Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Short Interest Update

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) saw a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 986,100 shares, a growth of 42.9% from the August 15th total of 690,300 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 241,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the firm’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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,032,000 after buying an additional 11,207 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 54,030 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $105,999,000 after acquiring an additional 182,245 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at $46,626,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,601,000 after buying an additional 681,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 3.2 %

HTLF stock traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.59. 193,029 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 305,676. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $26.44 and a 1-year high of $56.75. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.60.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $188.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. Heartland Financial USA’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTLF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com began coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

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.