Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Purchases $430,441.20 in Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin purchased 35,960 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.97 per share, with a total value of $430,441.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,311,913 shares in the company, valued at $15,703,598.61. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $12.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.84. The company has a market cap of $986.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.34 and a beta of 0.71. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.63 and a twelve month high of $14.60.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.11). Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.11% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. The business had revenue of $259.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.14) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Heartland Express from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.50.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the second quarter valued at about $5,584,000. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,702,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 243.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 241,755 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 171,319 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 14.6% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 666,675 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,960,000 after purchasing an additional 84,739 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 82.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 142,774 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 64,522 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Heartland Express

Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium, and long-haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers; cross-border freight and other transportation services; and temperature-controlled truckload services.