Heartland Express (HTLD) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $867.50M
• Dividend Yield: 0.87%
• Average Volume (3M): 609.23K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 0.96
• Revenue Growth: -19.56%
• EPS Growth: -54.39%
• Country: US
• Employees: 5,220
• Sector: Industrials
• Sector Strength: 72
• Industry: Trucking
• EPS (TTM): -0.25
• Shares Outstanding: 77,454,920
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 762,387
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 609,233
• PEG Ratio: -0.18
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.93
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.87
• P/FCF Ratio: -10.52
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.16
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.25
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: -132.03
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 9.85
• 1Y Price Target: $9.67
• Price Target Upside: -13.66% Downside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Sell
• Number of Analyst Covering: 3
• EPS Forecast (FY): -0.24
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $728.90M

• Rating: 46 Neutral
• Price Target: $10.50 ▼(-6.25% Downside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 03/18/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 03/18/26

The score is held back primarily by deteriorating financial performance (losses, falling revenue, and compressed margins) and weak technical momentum (below key moving averages with negative MACD). Balance sheet deleveraging and continued dividends provide some support, but negative/volatile free cash flow and a negative P/E keep the overall profile below average.

Positive Factors

Improved leverage

Material deleveraging from 2022 to 2025 improves financial flexibility and reduces interest and refinancing risk. Lower leverage gives the firm capacity to absorb cyclical revenue shocks, maintain operations and dividends, and selectively invest in fleet or network improvements over the next 2–6 months.

Negative Factors

Falling revenue

Declining revenue over 2024–2025 reduces scale benefits and indicates weakened demand or lost volumes. Lower top-line trends undermine utilization of tractors and trailers, increase per-mile fixed cost absorption, and constrain recovery of margins absent durable traffic or pricing improvements.

Heartland Express Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Heartland Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers from Washington to F...

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Heartland Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier in the United States and Canada. It primarily provides nationwide asset-based dry van truckload service for shippers from Washington to F...

How the Company Makes Money

Heartland Express makes money primarily by hauling full truckload shipments for customers and charging freight rates that are typically priced per mile, per load, or under contracted arrangements (often with fuel-related pricing mechanisms). Its c...

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Heartland Express makes money primarily by hauling full truckload shipments for customers and charging freight rates that are typically priced per mile, per load, or under contracted arrangements (often with fuel-related pricing mechanisms). Its c...

Heartland Express Financial Statement Overview

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	805.71M	1.05B	1.21B	968.00M	607.28M
Gross Profit	-7.65M	38.88M	78.20M	149.87M	93.82M
EBITDA	102.56M	162.43M	243.08M	322.69M	210.13M
Net Income	-52.45M	-29.72M	14.78M	133.58M	79.28M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	1.19B	1.33B	1.51B	1.67B	928.54M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	18.48M	12.81M	28.12M	50.21M	157.74M
Total Debt	161.42M	208.61M	317.44M	433.96M	0.00
Total Liabilities	436.30M	511.59M	644.39M	814.01M	201.44M
Stockholders Equity	755.32M	822.60M	865.26M	855.48M	727.10M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-66.85M	34.81M	-43.33M	34.15M	-9.22M
Operating Cash Flow	89.31M	144.35M	165.27M	194.71M	123.42M
Investing Cash Flow	-26.00M	-46.54M	-67.87M	-663.26M	-2.65M
Financing Cash Flow	-58.15M	-112.71M	-120.69M	359.26M	-78.14M

Heartland Express Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 11.20
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For HTLD, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 11.2 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 10.09, above the 50-day MA of 10.63, and above the 200-day MA of 9.09, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.11 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 67.55 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 85.47 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for HTLD.

Heartland Express Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
Sector *	63 Neutral	$10.79B	15.43	7.44%	2.01%	2.89%	-14.66%
CVLG	60 Neutral	$722.89M	76.15	1.72%	1.23%	1.62%	-22.52%
ULH	59 Neutral	$604.73M	-4.00	-6.38%	2.76%	-7.55%	-130.67%
ARCB	56 Neutral	$2.42B	-51.41	4.61%	0.62%	-5.34%	-48.16%
MRTN	54 Neutral	$1.15B	53.18	2.27%	2.07%	-9.74%	-42.57%
WERN	49 Neutral	$1.90B	-126.32	-1.03%	1.84%	-3.42%	-43.86%
HTLD	46 Neutral	$867.50M	-13.41	-6.71%	0.87%	-19.56%	-54.39%

Heartland Express Corporate Events