Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research report released on Friday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $61.96 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.66. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. The company had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth about $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 681,412 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,049,000 after acquiring an additional 421,000 shares during the period. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,601,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.