Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

04 Aug 2026, 01:48 by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HTLD. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Heartland Express from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Heartland Express from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on Heartland Express from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.20.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Heartland Express

Heartland Express Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ HTLD opened at $12.25 on Friday. Heartland Express has a 12-month low of $6.99 and a 12-month high of $16.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $949.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.75 and a beta of 1.31.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The transportation company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.98% and a negative return on equity of 0.92%. The firm had revenue of $184.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.14) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Heartland Express will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is presently -28.57%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Express

In related news, Director David Paul Millis sold 31,402 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.67, for a total value of $492,069.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,387 shares in the company, valued at $444,824.29. This trade represents a 52.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 41.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 18.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Heartland Express by 46.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 233,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 74,078 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 1st quarter valued at $391,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 102,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 26,157 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 78.3% in the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 244,083 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,538,000 after buying an additional 107,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.45% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Express

(Get Free Report)

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.