Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyShares of Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD – Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $9.11 and traded as high as $11.15. Heartland Express shares last traded at $11.11, with a volume of 667,526 shares trading hands.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages recently weighed in on HTLD. Morgan Stanley set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Heartland Express from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $12.00 price objective on Heartland Express and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Heartland Express has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.20.
Get Our Latest Research Report on HTLD
Heartland Express Price Performance
The company has a market capitalization of $872.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.14.
Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The transportation company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.01. Heartland Express had a negative return on equity of 4.79% and a negative net margin of 6.51%.The business had revenue of $157.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 13.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,408,307 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,168,000 after acquiring an additional 166,717 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC bought a new position in Heartland Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,062,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Express by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,241,432 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,727,000 after purchasing an additional 128,702 shares during the last quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Express by 123.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 344,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 190,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gate City Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Express by 167.6% in the second quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 1,611,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,388 shares during the last quarter. 53.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Heartland Express Company Profile
Heartland Express, Inc (NASDAQ: HTLD) is a publicly traded truckload carrier headquartered in North Liberty, Iowa. The company specializes in full truckload transportation, offering dry-van services that connect shippers with customers across the continental United States. Its primary focus is on over-the-road freight movements, serving industries such as manufacturing, retail, and consumer goods.
Founded in 1978 as Heartland Motor Freight, the company has grown from a regional carrier into one of the larger U.S.