Heartland Express, Inc. (HTLD)
Industrials
- Fundamental
- 3
- Sentiment
- 2
- Technical
- 3
Do Nothing: qualitativeScore is 2 (below the required floor of 3); the strategy requires qualitativeScore ≥ 3 before any bullish entry, and no chart pattern overrides the upstream qualitative screen's absence of a market-rewarded bullish element.
Company overview
Heartland Express, Inc. is a transportation company specializing in short to medium-distance truckload freight across the U.S. and Canada. Its services include dry van truckload hauling and temperature-controlled logistics under the Heartland Express and Millis Transfer brands. The company serves retailers and manufacturers in various industries, including consumer goods and automotive.
Fundamental
fairLiquidity is stable, but profitability and cash generation are under pressure, with recent gains driven by non-recurring items.
3/5 (Mixed): Liquidity and covenants look stable (no going-concern language; revolver availability reported in recent filings), but profitability and cash generation remain pressured (TTM net margin -2.98%, ROIC -4.01%, free-cash-flow yield -5.36%). Q2 2026 swung to net income, yet was materially helped by a large gain on equipment disposals, so the operating recovery still needs confirmation.
Sentiment
weakThere are no actionable short-term catalysts or significant media or retail sentiment changes.
No actionable catalyst on a routine corporate calendar (dividend declaration, conference appearance, service award — all non-material), with a determinate but flat near-neutral media delta (baseline ≈ -0.08 → scoring ≈ -0.02) and no retail conversation; Red-Flag Screen clean, only stale litigation overhang noted. This is an absent/weak setup with nothing to price in the 1–30 trading-day window.
Technical
fairThe stock is stabilizing above key moving averages but lacks a confirmed bullish trend.
Mixed but stabilizing chart. HTLD has built a base near 11.75-12.10 over the past two weeks after a six-week decline from mid-July's ~15.3, and price (12.52) has reclaimed the SMA20 (12.38), EMA9 (12.36), EMA21 (12.46) and sits above the SMA200 (12.01) and the day's VWAP (12.515). Momentum is repairing: the MACD histogram has been positive for eight straight sessions (line -0.18 still below zero), RSI has climbed from 37 to 49, and Williams %R is -22. Yet price remains below the SMA50 (13.17), the MACD line is still negative, and ADX ~30 flags a strong prior downtrend whose direction has not fully turned. Volume is neutral (690K vs ~600K recent average). Constructive but incomplete turn: some bullish confirmations, some neutral — score 3. The trade plan itself is suppressed by the upstream qualitative score floor, not by this chart read.
You’re looking at 2026-09-15 — more than 2 trading days ago.
Subscribers saw this then, and see today’s score, verdict and trade plan now.
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