James Pratt, a director at Heartland Express (HTLD), recently bought 9,000 shares. The buy increased his position by 62%, and came to a total cost of $107,619.
This is the seventh insider buy of the year. That includes two buys from the company CEO for a total of nearly $3 million in total, and a major holder who has continued to add to their stake. There have been no insider sales over the past two years.
Overall, Heartland insiders own 31.8% of shares.
The trucking services company is down 27% over the past year. The trucking industry has struggled as deliveries on goods has declined overall, reflecting a sluggish economy and the rise of digital services.
Heartland has been no exception, showing an 18% revenue drop, and the company has had a slight loss over the past year.
Currently, Heartland shares trade at an estimated 83 times forward earnings, and at 0.8 times their price-to-sales, indicating a mixed valuation view right now.
Action to take: Heartland shares hit a 52-week low in April and are trending higher. Investors can buy shares here as a momentum play. Heartland also pays a 0.7% dividend at current prices.
For traders, the September $12.50 calls, last trading for about $0.50, could see mid-to-high double-digit returns in the coming months as shares are likely to continue trending higher.
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 company mentioned in this article.