Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

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

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of HTLF stock opened at $56.59 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $51.83 and a 200 day moving average of $43.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 0.95. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $26.44 and a 1-year high of $56.75.

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

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth 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. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 506.3% in the first quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 394,095 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,852,000 after buying an additional 329,095 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,502,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.