Michael Sullivan, a director at Heartland Express (HTLD), recently added 1,000 shares to his holdings. The buy increased his stake by over 8 percent, and came to a total purchase price of just over $18,000.
Insiders have been mixed over the past year, with a number of large sales by the trustee of a major holder giving sellers the edge. However, company directors have largely been buyers in the past year. Overall, company insiders own nearly 50 percent of the company.
The trucking company is one of the rare names that are down on a year-over-year basis, with shares about 8 percent lower. Company revenues are slightly down, although quarterly earnings numbers are slightly up.
With a reopening economy, supply chain issues still lingering, and shares trading at less than 20 times forward earnings, this looks like a solid play that will recover from its relative loss.
Action to take: Shares look attractive here under $19. Given the company’s history of trading in a range, traders should look to take come cash off the table if shares move back over $21.50. Shares pay a modest 0.4 percent dividend yield, so buying and holding isn’t the most attractive play here.
Among the company’s options trades, the September $20 calls, with a bid/ask spread near $0.55, could be a big winner if shares move to the high end of their trading range in the coming months. At $21, the options would be worth $1.00 at expiration, or nearly double where they trade now.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no positions in the stock mentioned here, and does not intend to make a trade on this company after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.