Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 854,200 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 1,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 443,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Heartland Express Trading Down 0.2 %

HTLD stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $9.42. 25,834 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 384,618. Heartland Express has a 52-week low of $9.11 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.78 and its 200-day moving average is $11.44. The company has a market cap of $739.55 million, a P/E ratio of -25.40 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -21.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,579 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 24,390 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.