Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on HTLF. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $48.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.82 and its 200-day moving average is $38.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA has a 12-month low of $26.44 and a 12-month high of $48.57.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.73 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 11.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total value of $149,385.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total value of $149,385.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total value of $191,976.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,529 shares of company stock worth $341,387. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,623,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 506.3% during the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 394,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,852,000 after acquiring an additional 329,095 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter worth $11,502,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,591,000 after purchasing an additional 88,886 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 209,120 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,865,000 after purchasing an additional 86,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Company Profile

Heartland Financial USA, Inc, a bank holding company, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, demand deposit accounts, NOW accounts, savings, money market, and individual retirement; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.