Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday after the company announced a dividend. Approximately 545,512 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 384,530 shares.The stock last traded at $9.32 and had previously closed at $9.20.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Heartland Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -21.62%.

Heartland Express Stock Up 2.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.49. The firm has a market cap of $741.51 million, a P/E ratio of -25.51 and a beta of 0.80.

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.57%. Research analysts anticipate that Heartland Express, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Express

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Express by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 17,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $194,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,579 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Heartland Express by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 39,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the period. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in Heartland Express by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 24,390 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.45% 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.