Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) Stock Price

Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Heartland Express Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLD opened at $8.51 on Wednesday. Heartland Express has a one year low of $8.18 and a one year high of $13.67. The stock has a market cap of $668.46 million, a PE ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Heartland Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Heartland Express’s payout ratio is -21.62%.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Express

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLD. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Express during the fourth quarter worth $311,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Heartland Express by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 88,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 12,021 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Heartland Express by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 560,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,287,000 after purchasing an additional 200,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Heartland Express by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 414,856 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,655,000 after purchasing an additional 98,866 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Express in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. 53.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.