Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin Buys 35,960 Shares of Stock

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) CEO Michael J. Gerdin acquired 35,960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.97 per share, for a total transaction of $430,441.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,311,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,703,598.61. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

Shares of HTLD opened at $12.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $986.68 million, a P/E ratio of -43.34 and a beta of 0.71. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.63 and a 12-month high of $14.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $11.73 and its 200-day moving average is $11.84.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.35 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.11% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.14) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Express

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 74.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,218 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 9,884 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the first quarter worth $673,000. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 23.3% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,715 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 2,779 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Heartland Express by 11.9% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 33,454 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Heartland Express by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Express Company Profile

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.