Analysts' expectations for Heartland Express disappoint - stock remains stable

The recently released quarterly figures from Heartland Express caused disillusionment among investors. The American logistics company missed analysts’ forecasts with revenue of 260 million USD, falling short by 3.2 percent. Even more disappointing was the reported loss of 0.12 USD per share, which significantly undercut expectations. Following this announcement, analysts revised their earnings models for the company. The consensus among three analysts anticipates revenues of 1.12 billion USD for 2025, representing a moderate increase of 3.4 percent compared to the previous year. Heartland Express is also expected to return to profitability with earnings of 0.21 USD per share, although 0.25 USD per share had previously been expected. The recently published results failed to meet analyst expectations, which led to a lowering of profit forecasts – however, revenue expectations remained unchanged. The average price target was maintained at 11.60 USD. Nonetheless, the price target ranges, which lie between 11.00 and 12.00 USD, indicate that experts have a relatively unified view of the company’s value. A comparison to historical growth rates of 18 percent shows that revenue growth for Heartland Express could now decline to 2.7 percent annually by the end of 2025. In comparison, analysts expect higher annual growth of 7.9 percent for competing companies in the industry. This illustrates that both Heartland Express and the industry face challenges in growth.