Analysts Set Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) PT at $45.60

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

HTLF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $47.60 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $26.44 and a 1 year high of $47.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average is $38.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67 and a beta of 0.97.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.73 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 8.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total value of $149,385.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total value of $191,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,000 shares in the company, valued at $429,420. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction of $149,385.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $277,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,529 shares of company stock worth $341,387. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Black Maple Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the first quarter worth $696,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 506.3% in the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 394,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,852,000 after purchasing an additional 329,095 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,032,000 after purchasing an additional 11,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. 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.