Barclays Maintains an 'Equalweight' on Heartland Express (HTLD); Soft 3Q Driving Reduced Outlook

Barclays maintains an 'Equalweight' on Heartland Express (NASDAQ: HTLD) price target of $15.00.

Barclays analyst says, "Heartland's softer-than-expected third quarter results likely reflect growth challenges facing the company; we expect a lowered outlook following the release. HTLD's third quarter results significantly missed Street expectations last night as the carrier mentioned a challenging driver market and increased fuel expense as headwinds to results. While it is hard to decipher HTLD's results relative to others, given the lack of disclosure, we believe this quarter's outcome is more related to the company's growth challenges rather than an indicator of broader fundamental weakness. While we remain bullish for TL carrier prospects, we believe HTLD's sector-high valuation and challenged growth outlook limit equity upside in the company's shares."

"Reducing our Outlook to Reflect Higher Expenses - Factoring in higher expenses, we are reducing our 4Q EPS estimate to 17c from 20c and 2012 to 78c from 84c."

For more ratings news on Heartland Express click here and for the rating history of Heartland Express click here.

Shares of Heartland Express closed at $14.10 yesterday.

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