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 report published on Saturday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Financial USA presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Shares of HTLF opened at $57.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 0.95. Heartland Financial USA has a 12-month low of $26.44 and a 12-month high of $59.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.22 and its 200-day moving average is $44.49.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 7.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth approximately $83,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently 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.