JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $1.56 Million Position in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 159.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 127,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,237 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.16% of Heartland Express worth $1,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 852,557 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,469,000 after buying an additional 22,448 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,634,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 256,171 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 12,998 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 243.2% in 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 during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,702,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Express Stock Performance

HTLD opened at $11.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.91. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.63 and a 52-week high of $13.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $935.72 million, a PE ratio of -41.10 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -27.59%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Express

In other Heartland Express news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 49,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.24 per share, with a total value of $605,953.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 898,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,998,668.16. This represents a 5.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 5,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.49 per share, for a total transaction of $59,862.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,265,002 shares in the company, valued at $14,534,872.98. The trade was a 0.41 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HTLD. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.75.

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.