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Buy Day today: Neutral (53) Mixed market breadth · no major macro event

Heartland Express Inc (HTLD)

Industrials Trucking
12.20 $
-3.9% vs. previous close
Closing price · As of: 31. Jul 2026
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Trading Day

Previous Close
12.70$
Open
12.60$
Day High
12.80$
Day Low
12.20$
Volume
856,227shares

Key levels of the most recently completed trading day — not a live quote.

52-Week Range

52-Week Low 52-Week High
7.10 $ 16.20 $
11/20/2025 06/11/2026

Current price 12.20 $ — 56% of the range above the low.

Lowest and highest closing price over the last 52 weeks. The marker shows where the current price sits within that range: close to the high speaks for strength, close to the low for weakness.

Basics

Market Cap
1.0$B
Shares Outstanding
78Mio.
Float
69.8%
Beta
1.3

Performance

Perf. 1M
2.80%
Perf. 3M
51.50%
Perf. 6M
68.60%
YTD Performance (%)
62.70%
52-Week-High Distance
-8.2%
Perf. 1Y
57.64%
Perf. 3Y
-23.53%
Perf. 5Y
-23.63%
Perf. 10Y
-28.34%
Perf. Since Inception
4,134.76%

Technical Indicators

MA 38 Days
14.90$
MA 50 Days
14.90$
MA 200 Days
11.30$
RSI (14)
24.1
Volatility 30 Days
35.9%
Volatility 250 Days
40.8%

Calculated from the price history · as of 08/03/2026

Valuation

P/E
Forward P/E
21.1
PEG
1.7
P/B
1.3
P/S
1.2
EV/EBITDA
9.8
Price/FCF

Profitability

Gross Margin
28.1%
EBIT Margin
Net Margin
-3.0%
Return on Equity
-5.6%
Return on Assets
-2.5%

Balance Sheet & Safety

Equity Ratio
Debt/Equity
0.2
fortress balance sheet
Altman Z″
7.63
Piotroski
7 out of 9

Growth

Sales Growth Last Quarter
-19.70%
EPS Growth Last Quarter
-66.10%
Sales Growth (Year)
-23.08%
Forward Sales Growth
7.74%
Forward EPS Growth
2,138.00%

Dividend

Dividend Yield
0.65%
Dividend Per Share (TTM)
0.08$
Payout Ratio
42.1%
Years Without a Cut
3Years
Increase Streak
0Years

Quality & Screener

Stage
2
RS Rating
88
EPS Rating
10
Piotroski
7 out of 9
Fundamental Rating
C (47 out of 100)
fortress balance sheet
Altman Z″
7.63

AI Rating

Not yet rated — we only show a category once an SEC-backed file with at least two cited passages is available. How the Rating Is Built

Growth Score

4 of 10 Weak growth

Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.

  • Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years -5.9% failed
  • More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 7.7% failed
  • Share count grows by less than 3% a year -0.4% passed
  • Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") -31.4% failed
  • Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 8.4% failed
  • Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 27.1% failed
  • Net debt below twice EBITDA 1.4 x EBITDA passed
  • Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 466 m passed
  • Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago -5.7% failed
  • Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 51.3% passed

A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail

Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.

Analysts & Price Target

Current Price 12.20 $
Price Target (average) 13.40 $

The price target sits 9.8% above the current price.

Consensus
Hold
Analyst Ratings
5
Distribution of Recommendations
Strong Buy 0
Buy 0
Hold 3
Sell 2
Strong Sell 0

Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.

Estimates by Fiscal Year

Estimates by Fiscal Year
Fiscal Year EPS Estimate ($) EPS Range ($) Revenue Estimate ($M) Expected Growth Analysts
12/31/2026 0.03 -0.13 – 0.11 749 106.4% 3
12/31/2027 0.55 0.40 – 0.65 809 1,649.0% 4

Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.

Revenue & Profit

Cash Flow

Balance Sheet

Margins

Per Share

Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.

None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.

These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.

The figures could not be loaded right now.

Sales Per Quarter ($M)
2024: Q4 · 242.6 $M Q4 2025: Q1 · 219.4 $M Q1 2025: Q2 · 210.4 $M Q2 2025: Q3 · 196.5 $M Q3 2025: Q4 · 179.4 $M Q4 2026: Q1 · 176.3 $M Q1

Source: fundamental data

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Quarterly Figures

Quarterly Figures
Quarter EPS (Earnings Per Share) EPS YoY (%) Sales ($M) Sales YoY (%) Net Margin (%) OCF ($M) FCF ($M)
2024: Q4 -0.02 -136.50 243 -11.90 -0.80 38 -46
2025: Q1 -0.18 219 -18.80 -6.30 26 2
2025: Q2 -0.14 210 -23.40 -5.20 21 -13
2025: Q3 -0.11 197 -24.40 -4.20 28 -12
2025: Q4 -0.25 179 -26.10 -10.80 15 -44
2026: Q1 -0.06 176 -19.70 -2.70 23 5
What Do These Terms Mean?
EPS (Earnings Per Share):
Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
YoY (Year over Year):
Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
Sales:
All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
Net Margin:
What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
FCF (Free Cash Flow):
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.

Annual Figures

Annual Figures
Fiscal Year Revenue ($M) EBIT ($M) Net Income ($M) EPS ($) Operating Cash Flow ($M) Equity ($M) Total Assets ($M)
2016 613 86 56 0.68 156 506 738
2017 607 64 75 0.90 110 575 789
2018 611 90 73 0.88 147 616 806
2019 597 94 73 0.89 146 685 899
2020 645 93 71 0.87 179 724 951
2021 607 105 79 1.00 123 727 929
2022 968 91 134 1.69 195 855 1,669
2023 1,207 1 15 0.19 165 865 1,510
2024 1,048 -28 -30 -0.38 144 823 1,334
2025 806 -62 -52 -0.67 89 755 1,192

Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.

About the Company

Heartland Express, Inc. bietet zusammen mit seinen Tochtergesellschaften Kurz-, Mittel- und Langstrecken-Komplettladungsspeditions- und Transportdienstleistungen in den USA, Mexiko und Kanada an.

CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.)buying own stock
Employees3,630
HeadquartersNorth Liberty, IA
Address901 Heartland Way, 52317 North Liberty, United States
Phone319 645 7060
Websiteheartlandexpress.com
IPO Date26. Mar 1990
ISINUS4223471040
Stock Split4:3 on 05/16/2006

Management

Management
Name Title Birth Year
Michael J. Gerdin Chairman of the Board, President & CEO 1970
Christopher Alan Strain CPA VP of Finance, Treasurer & CFO 1975
Kent Daryl Rigdon Chief Operating Officer 1964
Joshua S. Helmich Chief Administrative Officer & Secretary 1976
Brian J. Janssen Vice President of Sales

Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.

Chart

Interactive price chart (TradingView).

Data as of: July 31, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)

Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.

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