Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Receives $45.60 Average Price Target from Analysts

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

A number of research firms have issued reports on HTLF. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Saturday, September 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 0.6 %

HTLF opened at $55.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Heartland Financial USA has a fifty-two week low of $26.44 and a fifty-two week high of $59.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.64 and its 200 day moving average is $45.02.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 7.12%. The company had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA 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 value of $220,064.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 478,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,012,000 after acquiring an additional 32,044 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 223.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 24,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 17,221 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 67.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,827 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 12,795 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,591,000 after purchasing an additional 88,886 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,502,000. 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.