Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) – Seaport Global Securities boosted their FY2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Heartland Express in a report issued on Thursday, September 5th, Zacks Investment Research reports. Seaport Global Securities analyst K. Sterling now expects that the transportation company will post earnings per share of $1.02 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $0.99. Seaport Global Securities has a “Buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Global Securities also issued estimates for Heartland Express’ Q4 2019 earnings at $0.28 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $0.29 EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at $0.32 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $1.10 EPS.
Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. Heartland Express had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The firm had revenue of $142.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.93 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $21.00 target price on shares of Heartland Express and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. BidaskClub raised shares of Heartland Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Express in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.40.
Shares of HTLD opened at $21.52 on Monday. Heartland Express has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.47. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.76.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.09%.
In other Heartland Express news, Director Larry J. Gordon sold 44,944 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.12, for a total value of $994,161.28. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 303,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,705,877.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 42.80% of the company’s stock.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTLD. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. NumerixS Investment Technologies Inc increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. NumerixS Investment Technologies Inc now owns 4,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Heartland Express by 92.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,805 shares during the last quarter. 56.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Heartland Express Company Profile
Heartland Express, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. The company primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers from Washington to Florida and New England to California; and temperature-controlled truckload services.