Heartland Financial USA, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share by the bank on Tuesday, May 28th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th.

Heartland Financial USA has raised its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 7 years. Heartland Financial USA has a dividend payout ratio of 25.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Heartland Financial USA to earn $4.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.0%.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $44.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.98. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $26.10 and a 1-year high of $44.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.41.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 11.50%. The business had revenue of $279.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $429,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HTLF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Heartland Financial USA from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James upgraded Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.