Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research report report published on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

HTLF stock opened at $61.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA has a one year low of $32.03 and a one year high of $70.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This trade represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at about $225,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.