Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 240,080 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,694,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.31% of Heartland Express as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,634,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Heartland Express by 126.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,375 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,236,000 after purchasing an additional 161,222 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Heartland Express by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 696,823 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 157,892 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Heartland Express by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 90,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 175.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 104,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 66,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $9.15 on Thursday. Heartland Express, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.83 and a twelve month high of $13.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $718.73 million, a PE ratio of -24.73 and a beta of 0.80.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. On average, analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is presently -21.62%.

Heartland Express 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.