Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 632,300 shares, a decline of 12.1% from the December 15th total of 719,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 212,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,420.28. The trade was a 45.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock worth $1,958,839 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at about $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after acquiring an additional 681,412 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,049,000 after purchasing an additional 421,000 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,601,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of HTLF stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.78. The stock had a trading volume of 139,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,616. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.75 and a beta of 0.98. 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 has a 12-month low of $32.03 and a 12-month high of $70.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.18.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

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.