Denali Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Denali Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 140,096 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,070 shares during the quarter. Heartland Financial USA makes up about 1.4% of Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $4,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 1.4 %

HTLF stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.89. The stock had a trading volume of 89,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,957. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.44 and a 12-month high of $45.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.90.

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

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction 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 approximately $277,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total transaction of $191,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,420. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction of $149,385.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,529 shares of company stock valued at $341,387 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

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.