Heartland Express downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

UBS downgraded Heartland Express to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $13, down from $15. The analyst sees a a longer period of time that Heartland will produce “depressed” margins and operating losses. A tighter truckload market which supports mid single digit or higher contract rate increases is necessary for the company to realize a significant step up in operating margin and earnings performance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. UBS no longer anticipates this inflection and step up to occur in 2025.