Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 681,100 shares, an increase of 12.0% from the October 31st total of 608,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 210,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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 HTLF. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 681,412 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,601,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $68.09 on Wednesday. Heartland Financial USA has a twelve month low of $31.47 and a twelve month high of $70.27. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.38 and its 200 day moving average is $53.47.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million during 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 company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

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.