UPDATE: Deutsche Bank Raises PT on Heartland Express on Reported Q1 Upside

In a report published Wednesday, Deutsche Bank analyst Greg Poole reiterated a Hold rating on Heartland Express

, and slightly raised the price target from $13.00 to $14.00. In the report, Poole noted, “Yesterday, HTLD reported Q1 EPS of $0.23, above our estimate of $0.18 and Consensus of $0.19. The beat was largely driven by higher-than-expected gains on sales ($0.05/share vs. DBe) as HTLD generated $11.2 million of gains following the delivery of new tractors and trailers. Despite the gains, overall revenue was roughly flat (down 0.4%) y/y given a moderate demand environment, challenging weather comps, and roughly 1.5 fewer operating days from Leap Year in 2012 and the timing of Good Friday last quarter. While HTLD is a solid operator, ongoing cost inflation will likely offset modest rate increases given a sluggish near-term freight environment.” Heartland Express closed on Tuesday at $13.40.