<div id="readability-page-1"><p><strong>Heartland Express, Inc.</strong> (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of 0.02 per share by the transportation company on Wednesday, January 7th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Heartland Express</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><p>Heartland Express has a payout ratio of 22.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Heartland Express to earn $0.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.4%. </p><h2>Heartland Express Trading Down 1.7%</h2><p>Shares of Heartland Express stock opened at $9.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.90 million, a PE ratio of -20.90 and a beta of 1.14. Heartland Express has a 52 week low of $6.99 and a 52 week high of $12.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. </p><p>Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The transportation company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.11). The company had revenue of $172.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.68 million. Heartland Express had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a negative return on equity of 4.37%.  As a group, equities analysts anticipate that  Heartland Express will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Analysts Set New Price Targets</h2><p>A number of research firms have issued reports on HTLD. JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. decreased their target price on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an &#34;underweight&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Heartland Express from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Heartland Express from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings  reiterated a &#34;sell (e+)&#34; rating on shares of Heartland Express in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Heartland Express from a &#34;strong sell&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued  a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company  has an average rating of &#34;Reduce&#34; and a consensus price target of $8.25.</p><p><b>View Our Latest Stock Analysis on HTLD</b></p><h2>About Heartland Express</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Heartland Express</li><li>Short Selling - The Pros and Cons </li><li>3 Tech Stocks Down Over 60%—Which One Is Worth Buying?</li><li>The Role Economic Reports Play in a Successful Investment Strategy</li><li>25 Years Later, Cisco Finally Recovers From the Dot-Com Crash</li><li>Stock Ratings and Recommendations: Understanding Analyst Ratings</li><li>AI Chips Can’t Exist Without These 2 Underrated Tech Giants</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/DividendChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9SFRMRA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="325" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/DividendChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9SFRMRA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Heartland Express Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Heartland Express, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Heartland Express wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Heartland Express currently has a Reduce rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

HTLD

<p>Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) announced a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share, payable on January 7th to shareholders of record on December 26th. The dividend yield is 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 22.9%. Analysts expect the company to maintain its annual dividend of $0.08 with a future payout ratio of 10.4%. The stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a price target of $8.25.</p>

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.02