Barclays PLC Grows Stock Holdings in Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD)

Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) by 326.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,185 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Heartland Express worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLD. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 85.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the 3rd quarter worth $124,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Heartland Express during the 2nd quarter worth $166,000. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 33.3% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 19,245 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares in the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Express Stock Up 2.0 %

HTLD stock opened at $11.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.95. Heartland Express, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.63 and a 52 week high of $13.78. The company has a market cap of $867.39 million, a P/E ratio of -38.10 and a beta of 0.77.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $259.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $268.35 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.14) EPS. Heartland Express’s revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -27.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Heartland Express from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust acquired 49,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.24 per share, for a total transaction of $605,953.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 898,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,998,668.16. This trade represents a 5.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Gerdin bought 63,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.95 per share, for a total transaction of $690,660.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,259,792 shares in the company, valued at $13,794,722.40. The trade was a 5.27 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 153,750 shares of company stock worth $1,786,918 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 39.60% of the company’s stock.

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.