Is Heartland Express Stock a Good Investment?

Heartland Express Investment Advice

  HTLD
To provide specific investment advice or recommendations on Heartland Express stock, we recommend investors consider the following general factors when evaluating Heartland Express. This will help you to make an informed decision on whether to include Heartland Express in one of your diversified portfolios:
  • Examine Heartland Express' financial health by looking at its balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. Analyze key financial ratios, such as Price-to-Earnings (P/E), Price-to-Sales (P/S), and Price-to-Book (P/B), to determine whether the stock is fairly valued or over/undervalued.
  • Research Heartland Express' leadership team and their track record. Good management can help Heartland Express navigate difficult times and make strategic decisions that benefit shareholders and increases its net worth.
  • Consider the overall health of the Cargo Ground Transportation space and any emerging trends that could impact Heartland Express' business and its evolving consumer preferences.
  • Compare Heartland Express' performance and market position to its competitors. Analyze how Heartland Express is positioned in terms of product offerings, innovation, and market share.
  • Check if Heartland Express pays a dividend and its dividend yield and payout ratio.
  • Review what financial analysts are saying about Heartland Express' stock and their price targets. However, remember that analysts' opinions can vary, and their predictions may not always be accurate.
It's important to note that investing in Heartland Express stock, carries risks, and you should carefully consider your investment goals and risk tolerance before making any investment decisions. Also, remember that it's important for investors to have a long-term perspective and a well-diversified portfolio to manage the impact of stock market volatility on their investments. Below is a detailed guide on how to decide if Heartland Express is a good investment.
 
Sell
 
Buy
Hold
We provide advice to complement the regular expert consensus on Heartland Express. Our dynamic recommendation engine utilizes a multidimensional algorithm to analyze the company's potential to grow using all technical and fundamental data available at the time. To make sure Heartland Express is not overpriced, please check out all Heartland Express fundamentals, including its current valuation, revenue, current ratio, as well as the relationship between the number of shares shorted and cash and equivalents . Given that Heartland Express has a price to earning of 18.73 X, we strongly advise you to confirm Heartland Express market performance and probability of bankruptcy to ensure the company can sustain itself in the current economic cycle given your regular risk tolerance and investing horizon.

Market Performance

Very WeakDetails

Volatility

Not too volatileDetails

Hype Condition

StaleDetails

Current Valuation

UndervaluedDetails

Odds Of Distress

LowDetails

Economic Sensitivity

Slowly supersedes the marketDetails

Investor Sentiment

InterestedDetails

Analyst Consensus

HoldDetails

Financial Leverage

Not RatedDetails

Reporting Quality (M-Score)

UnavailableDetails

Examine Heartland Express Stock

Researching Heartland Express' stock involves analyzing various aspects of the company and its industry to make an informed investment decision. The key areas to focus on are fundamentals, business model and competitive advantage. It is also important to analyze trends in revenue, net income, and cash flow, as well as key financial ratios, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and debt-to-equity (D/E). About 36.0% of the company shares are held by company insiders. The company has price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 0.89. Some equities with similar Price to Book (P/B) outperform the market in the long run. Heartland Express has Price/Earnings To Growth (PEG) ratio of 2.23. The entity recorded a loss per share of 0.38. The firm last dividend was issued on the 25th of March 2025. Heartland Express had 4:3 split on the 16th of May 2006.
To determine if Heartland Express is a good investment, evaluating the company's potential for future growth is also very important. This may include expanding into new markets, launching new products or services, or improving operational efficiency. Companies with strong growth prospects can be more attractive investments. This aspect of the research should be conducted in the context of the overall market and industry in which the company operates and should include an analysis of growth potential, competitive landscape, and any regulatory or economic factors that could impact the business. Some of the essential points regarding Heartland Express' research are outlined below:
Heartland Express generated a negative expected return over the last 90 days
The company reported the previous year's revenue of 1.05 B. Net Loss for the year was (29.72 M) with profit before overhead, payroll, taxes, and interest of 282.24 M.
About 36.0% of the company shares are held by company insiders
Latest headline from bizjournals.com: Heartland America, Hammacher Schlemmer acquired by S5 Equity

Heartland Express Quarterly Accounts Payable

35.37 Million

Heartland Express uses earnings reports to provide investors with an update of all three financial statements, including the income statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. Therefore, it is also crucial when considering investing in Heartland Express. Every quarterly earnings report provides investors with an overview of sales, expenses, and net income for the most recent period. It also may provide a comparison to Heartland Express' previous reporting period. The quarterly earnings reports are usually disseminated to the public via Form 10-Q, which is a legal document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission every quarter.
2nd of February 2024
Upcoming Quarterly Report
View
25th of April 2024
Next Financial Report
View
31st of December 2023
Next Fiscal Quarter End
View
2nd of February 2024
Next Fiscal Year End
View
30th of September 2023
Last Quarter Report
View
31st of December 2022
Last Financial Announcement
View
Earnings surprises can significantly impact Heartland Express' stock price both in the short term and over time. Negative earnings surprises usually result in a price decline. However, it has been seen that positive earnings surprises lead to an immediate rise in a stock's price and a gradual increase over time. This is why we often hear news about some companies beating earning projections. Financial analysts spend a large amount of time predicting earnings per share (EPS) along with other important future indicators. Many analysts use forecasting models, management guidance, and additional fundamental information to derive an EPS estimate. Below are the table of largest EPS Surprises Heartland Express' investors have experienced.
Reported
Fiscal Date
Estimated EPS
Reported EPS
Surprise
2003-04-17
2003-03-310.10.110.0110 
2002-07-17
2002-06-300.10.110.0110 
2002-01-14
2001-12-310.090.10.0111 
2001-07-17
2001-06-300.090.10.0111 
2001-04-17
2001-03-310.080.090.0112 
2000-07-18
2000-06-300.080.090.0112 
2000-01-24
1999-12-310.070.080.0114 
1999-04-15
1999-03-310.070.06-0.0114 

Know Heartland Express' Top Institutional Investors

Have you ever been surprised when a price of an equity instrument such as Heartland Express is soaring high without any particular reason? This is usually happening because many institutional investors are aggressively trading Heartland Express backward and forwards among themselves. Heartland Express' institutional investor refers to the entity that pools money to purchase Heartland Express' securities or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial and private banks, credit unions, insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds, endowments, and mutual funds. Operating companies that invest excess capital in these types of assets may also be included in the term and may influence corporate governance by exercising voting rights in their investments.
Shares
Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership2024-12-31
696.8 K
Amvescap Plc.2024-12-31
591.8 K
Gate City Capital Management, Llc2024-12-31
590.9 K
Morgan Stanley - Brokerage Accounts2024-12-31
582.5 K
Bridgeway Capital Management, Llc2024-12-31
581.3 K
Two Sigma Advisers, Llc2024-12-31
560.3 K
Jacobs Levy Equity Management, Inc.2024-12-31
542.8 K
Northern Trust Corp2024-12-31
518.5 K
Goldman Sachs Group Inc2024-12-31
484.6 K
Blackrock Inc2024-12-31
M
Vanguard Group Inc2024-12-31
4.9 M
Note, although Heartland Express' institutional investors appear to be way more sophisticated than retail investors, it remains unclear if professional active investment managers can reliably enhance risk-adjusted returns by an amount that exceeds fees and expenses.

Heartland Express' market capitalization trends

The company currently falls under 'Small-Cap' category with a current market capitalization of 728.94 M.

Market Cap

1.4 Billion

Heartland Express' profitablity analysis

Last ReportedProjected for Next Year
Return On Tangible Assets(0.03)(0.03)
Return On Capital Employed(0.02)(0.02)
Return On Assets(0.02)(0.02)
Return On Equity(0.03)(0.03)
The company has Profit Margin (PM) of (0.03) %, which may suggest that it does not properly executes on its current pricing strategies or is unable to control all of the operational costs. This is way below average. Similarly, it shows Operating Margin (OM) of (0.02) %, which suggests for every $100 dollars of sales, it generated a net operating loss of $0.02.
Determining Heartland Express' profitability involves analyzing its financial statements and using various financial metrics to determine if Heartland Express is a good buy. For example, gross profit margin measures Heartland Express' profitability after accounting for the cost of goods sold, while net profit margin measures profitability after accounting for all expenses. Other important metrics include return on assets, return on equity, and free cash flow. By reviewing multiple sources and metrics, you can gain a complete picture of Heartland Express' profitability and make more informed investment decisions.
Please note, the presentation of Heartland Express' financial position, as portrayed in its financial statements, is often influenced by management's estimates, judgments, and sometimes even manipulations. In the best case, Heartland Express' management is honest, while the outside auditors are strict and uncompromising. Please utilize our Beneish M Score to check the likelihood of Heartland Express' management manipulating its earnings.

Evaluate Heartland Express' management efficiency

Heartland Express has return on total asset (ROA) of (0.0122) % which means that it has lost $0.0122 on every $100 spent on assets. This is way below average. Similarly, it shows a return on stockholder's equity (ROE) of (0.0352) %, meaning that it created substantial loss on money invested by shareholders. Heartland Express' management efficiency ratios could be used to measure how well Heartland Express manages its routine affairs as well as how well it operates its assets and liabilities. The current year's Return On Tangible Assets is expected to grow to -0.03. In addition to that, Return On Capital Employed is expected to decline to -0.02. At present, Heartland Express' Non Current Assets Total are projected to increase significantly based on the last few years of reporting. The current year's Other Current Assets is expected to grow to about 26.3 M, whereas Net Tangible Assets are forecasted to decline to about 441.9 M.
Last ReportedProjected for Next Year
Book Value Per Share 10.45  10.97 
Tangible Book Value Per Share 5.16  5.42 
Enterprise Value Over EBITDA 6.64  6.98 
Price Book Value Ratio 0.95  0.91 
Enterprise Value Multiple 6.64  6.98 
Price Fair Value 0.95  0.91 
Enterprise Value1.3 B1.4 B
The decision-making processes within Heartland Express are key to its success in a competitive market. By evaluating these processes, we assess the stock's potential for future gains.
Dividend Yield
0.0086
Forward Dividend Yield
0.0086
Forward Dividend Rate
0.08
Beta
0.797

Basic technical analysis of Heartland Stock

As of the 24th of March, Heartland Express retains the risk adjusted performance of (0.16), and Market Risk Adjusted Performance of (0.46). Heartland Express technical analysis makes it possible for you to employ historical prices and volume momentum with the intention to determine a pattern that calculates the direction of the firm's future prices. Please check out Heartland Express standard deviation, as well as the relationship between the maximum drawdown and kurtosis to decide if Heartland Express is priced fairly, providing market reflects its last-minute price of 9.28 per share. Given that Heartland Express has information ratio of (0.16), we strongly advise you to confirm Heartland Express's regular market performance to make sure the company can sustain itself at a future point.

Heartland Express' insider trading activities

Some recent studies suggest that insider trading raises the cost of capital for securities issuers and decreases overall economic growth. Trading by specific Heartland Express insiders, such as employees or executives, is commonly permitted as long as it does not rely on Heartland Express' material information that is not in the public domain. Local jurisdictions usually require such trading to be reported in order to monitor insider transactions. In many U.S. states, trading conducted by corporate officers, key employees, directors, or significant shareholders must be reported to the regulator or publicly disclosed, usually within a few business days of the trade. In these cases Heartland Express insiders are required to file a Form 4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when buying or selling shares of their own companies.
 
Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust over two weeks ago
Acquisition by Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust of 985 shares of Heartland Express at 14.99 subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Eickman Kris Eric over two months ago
Acquisition by Eickman Kris Eric of 1000 shares of Heartland Express subject to Rule 16b-3
 
David Millis over three months ago
Acquisition by David Millis of 8489 shares of Heartland Express at 11.57 subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust over three months ago
Discretionary transaction by Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust of tradable shares of Heartland Express subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust over three months ago
Acquisition by Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust of 429094 shares of Heartland Express subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust over three months ago
Acquisition by Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust of 49506 shares of Heartland Express at 12.2427 subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Michael Gerdin over three months ago
Acquisition by Michael Gerdin of 35960 shares of Heartland Express at 11.9738 subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Michael Gerdin over six months ago
Disposition of 1139309 shares by Michael Gerdin of Heartland Express subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust over six months ago
Acquisition by Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust of 1418011 shares of Heartland Express subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Pratt James G over six months ago
Acquisition by Pratt James G of 9000 shares of Heartland Express at 11.9577 subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Michael Gerdin over six months ago
Acquisition by Michael Gerdin of 93496 shares of Heartland Express at 9.9206 subject to Rule 16b-3
 
Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust over six months ago
Acquisition by Ann S. Gerdin Revocable Trust of 93496 shares of Heartland Express at 9.8616 subject to Rule 16b-3

Heartland Express' Outstanding Corporate Bonds

Heartland Express issues bonds to finance its operations. Corporate bonds make up one of the largest components of the U.S. bond market, which is considered the world's largest securities market. Heartland Express uses the proceeds from bond sales for a wide variety of purposes, including financing ongoing mergers and acquisitions, buying new equipment, investing in research and development, buying back their own stock, paying dividends to shareholders, and even refinancing existing debt. Most Heartland bonds can be classified according to their maturity, which is the date when Heartland Express has to pay back the principal to investors. Maturities can be short-term, medium-term, or long-term (more than ten years). Longer-term bonds usually offer higher interest rates but may entail additional risks.

Understand Heartland Express' technical and predictive indicators

Using predictive indicators to make investment decisions involves analyzing Heartland Express' various financial and market-based factors to help forecast future trends and identify investment opportunities. Select the indicators that are most relevant to your investment strategy. Each indicator has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's essential to combine multiple indicators to get a more comprehensive view of the market and reduce the risk of making poor decisions based on limited data.

Consider Heartland Express' intraday indicators

Heartland Express intraday indicators are useful technical analysis tools used by many experienced traders. Just like the conventional technical analysis, daily indicators help intraday investors to analyze the price movement with the timing of Heartland Express stock daily movement. By combining multiple daily indicators into a single trading strategy, you can limit your risk while still earning strong returns on your managed positions.

Heartland Express Corporate Filings

8K
18th of March 2025
Report filed with the SEC to announce major events that shareholders should know about
ViewVerify
10K
18th of February 2025
Annual report required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of a company financial performance
ViewVerify
F4
3rd of January 2025
The report filed by a party regarding the acquisition or disposition of a company's common stock, as well as derivative securities such as options, warrants, and convertible securities
ViewVerify
10Q
12th of November 2024
Quarterly performance report mandated by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to be filed by publicly traded corporations
ViewVerify
Heartland Express time-series forecasting models is one of many Heartland Express' stock analysis techniques aimed to predict future share value based on previously observed values. Time-series forecasting models ae widely used for non-stationary data. Non-stationary data are called the data whose statistical properties e.g. the mean and standard deviation are not constant over time but instead, these metrics vary over time. These non-stationary Heartland Express' historical data is usually called time-series. Some empirical experimentation suggests that the statistical forecasting models outperform the models based exclusively on fundamental analysis to predict the direction of the market movement and maximize returns from investment trading.

Heartland Stock media impact

Far too much social signal, news, headlines, and media speculation about Heartland Express that are available to investors today. That information is available publicly through Heartland media outlets and privately through word of mouth or via Heartland internal channels. However, regardless of the origin, that massive amount of Heartland data is challenging to quantify into actionable patterns, especially for investors that are not very sophisticated with ever-evolving tools and techniques used in the investment management field.
A primary focus of Heartland Express news analysis is to determine if its current price reflects all relevant headlines and social signals impacting the current market conditions. A news analyst typically looks at the history of Heartland Express relative headlines and hype rather than examining external drivers such as technical or fundamental data. It is believed that price action tends to repeat itself due to investors' collective, patterned thinking related to Heartland Express' headlines and news coverage data. This data is often completely overlooked or insufficiently analyzed for actionable insights to drive Heartland Express alpha.

Heartland Express Sentiment by Major News Outlets

Investor sentiment, mood or attitude towards Heartland Express can have a significant impact on its stock price or the market as a whole. This sentiment can be positive or negative, and various factors, such as economic indicators, news events, or market trends, can influence it. When investor sentiment is positive, investors are more likely to buy stocks, increasing demand and increasing the stock price. Positive investor sentiment can be driven by good news about the company or the broader market, such as solid earnings reports or positive economic data.
Note that negative investor sentiment can cause investors to sell stocks, leading to a decrease in demand and a drop in the stock price. Negative sentiment can be driven by factors such as poor earnings reports, negative news about the company or industry, or broader economic concerns. It's important to note that investor sentiment is just one of many factors that can affect stock prices. Other factors, such as company performance, industry trends, and global economic conditions, can also play a significant role in determining the value of a stock.

Heartland Express Historical Investor Sentiment

Investor biases related to Heartland Express' public news can be used to forecast risks associated with an investment in Heartland. The trend in average sentiment can be used to explain how an investor holding Heartland can time the market purely based on public headlines and social activities around Heartland Express. Please note that most equities that are difficult to arbitrage are affected by market sentiment the most.
Heartland Express' market sentiment shows the aggregated news analyzed to detect positive and negative mentions from the text and comments. The data is normalized to provide daily scores for Heartland Express and other traded tickers. The bigger the bubble, the more accurate the estimated score. Higher bars for a given day show more participation in the average Heartland Express news discussions. The higher the estimate score, the more favorable the investor's outlook on Heartland Express.
When determining whether Heartland Express is a strong investment it is important to analyze Heartland Express' competitive position within its industry, examining market share, product or service uniqueness, and competitive advantages. Beyond financials and market position, potential investors should also consider broader economic conditions, industry trends, and any regulatory or geopolitical factors that may impact Heartland Express' future performance. For an informed investment choice regarding Heartland Stock, refer to the following important reports:
Check out Risk vs Return Analysis to better understand how to build diversified portfolios, which includes a position in Heartland Express. Also, note that the market value of any company could be closely tied with the direction of predictive economic indicators such as signals in bureau of economic analysis.
For information on how to trade Heartland Stock refer to our How to Trade Heartland Stock guide.
You can also try the Equity Forecasting module to use basic forecasting models to generate price predictions and determine price momentum.
Is Cargo Ground Transportation space expected to grow? Or is there an opportunity to expand the business' product line in the future? Factors like these will boost the valuation of Heartland Express. If investors know Heartland will grow in the future, the company's valuation will be higher. The financial industry is built on trying to define current growth potential and future valuation accurately. All the valuation information about Heartland Express listed above have to be considered, but the key to understanding future value is determining which factors weigh more heavily than others.
Quarterly Earnings Growth
(0.66)
Dividend Share
0.08
Earnings Share
(0.38)
Revenue Per Share
13.305
Quarterly Revenue Growth
(0.12)
The market value of Heartland Express is measured differently than its book value, which is the value of Heartland that is recorded on the company's balance sheet. Investors also form their own opinion of Heartland Express' value that differs from its market value or its book value, called intrinsic value, which is Heartland Express' true underlying value. Investors use various methods to calculate intrinsic value and buy a stock when its market value falls below its intrinsic value. Because Heartland Express' market value can be influenced by many factors that don't directly affect Heartland Express' underlying business (such as a pandemic or basic market pessimism), market value can vary widely from intrinsic value.
In summary, please note that there is a difference between Heartland Express' value and its price, as these two are different measures arrived at by various means. Investors typically determine if Heartland Express is a good investment by looking at such factors as earnings, sales, fundamental and technical indicators, competition as well as analyst projections. However, Heartland Express' price is the amount at which it trades on the open market and represents the number that a seller and buyer find agreeable to each party.