Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 210,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $67.32 on Tuesday. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $31.47 and a 1 year high of $70.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.14 and its 200 day moving average is $53.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,049,000 after purchasing an additional 421,000 shares during the period. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at about $10,601,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

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.