Michael Gerdin, CEO at
Heartland Express (HTLD), recently bought 5,841 shares. The buy increased his position by less than 1 percent, and came to a total cost of $89,367. Gerdin was also an active buyer back in May, and six other buys in the past 12 months.
This marks the first insider activity since May, when a major owner bought 1,792 shares. There have been no insider sales at the company over the past year.
Overall, company insiders own 44 percent of the trucking company.
Shares have been slightly down over the past year, underperforming the 4 percent rise in the S&P 500 over the same period.
The company has seen revenues grow by 63 percent, but higher costs have cut into earnings, with a drop of nearly 90 percent.
Action to take: Investors may like shares at current prices or on any drop as a long-term buy.
Heartland has a low ratio of debt to equity, in contrast to the recent bankruptcy of competitor Yellow. Plus, shares yield about 0.5 percent here, with a low payout ratio that could rise in time.
For traders, the stock has been rangebound over the past year, but shares are on the low end of their range now.
The December $17.50 calls, last going or about $0.60, could see mid-to-high double-digit returns or better in the weeks ahead.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.