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

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

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 1.1 %

HTLF opened at $68.09 on Monday. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $31.47 and a 12 month high of $70.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.47. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,111,000 after buying an additional 54,030 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,999,000 after acquiring an additional 182,245 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,579,000 after purchasing an additional 53,755 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,626,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,023,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,036,000 after purchasing an additional 47,480 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.