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

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

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

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Shares of HTLF stock opened at $52.67 on Tuesday. Heartland Financial USA has a one year low of $26.44 and a one year high of $56.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.36 and its 200 day moving average is $41.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Heartland Financial USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction of $149,385.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,318 shares of company stock worth $369,475 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,009,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 478,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,012,000 after acquiring an additional 32,044 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 223.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 24,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 17,221 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,827 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 12,795 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,591,000 after acquiring an additional 88,886 shares during the period. 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.