Baird Resumes Coverage of Heartland Express (HTLD) Stock with Neutral Rating

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) is one of the Top 10 Transportation and Industrial Stocks to Buy Now. Baird resumed coverage of the company’s stock with a “Neutral” rating and a price objective of $9. The firm is resuming its coverage on the broader trucking, logistics, and rail sectors. It has a constructive, but balanced view of the near-term risks as well as earnings prospects. As per the analyst, while the balance of 2025 remains uncertain, the conditions that tend to precede a turn remain largely in place.

The company’s Heartland Express brand remained profitable during the 3 months ended March 31, 2025. However, it did not reflect the operating ratio and financial results that it expected and delivered over the previous periods. It believes that Heartland Express continued to operate in line with the best full truckload carriers in the industry.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) has been strategically shrinking its fleet to right-size to freight demand, along with evaluating all the cost measures for opportunities for efficiency. Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) opines that cost improvements and transportation system changes, which are already underway or planned for each of the brands, can provide a better cost structure and operating visibility to deliver a path towards operating profitability for the company’s consolidated operations.

Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD) operates as a short, medium, and long-haul truckload carrier and transportation services provider. Palm Valley Capital Management, an investment management firm, released its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“During the period, we added to our weightings in Kelly Services (ticker: KELYA), Resources Connection (ticker: RGP), and Heartland Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLD). We increased our exposure to Heartland Express on share price weakness. The business continues to generate free cash flow, and we believe the trucking industry will recover from its cyclical trough.”

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.