StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF)

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

HTLF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Heartland Financial USA from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James raised Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Heartland Financial USA from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $44.05 on Wednesday. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $26.10 and a 1-year high of $44.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.41.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.73 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 11.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total value of $191,976.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,420. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 66.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 248.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,706 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.