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

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

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.1 %

HTLF opened at $65.23 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $29.67 and a 12 month high of $69.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.84. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,032,000 after purchasing an additional 11,207 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,111,000 after acquiring an additional 54,030 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,999,000 after purchasing an additional 182,245 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after buying an additional 53,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at $46,626,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heartland Financial USA

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.