Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $59.58 and last traded at $59.50, with a volume of 35898 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $57.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.89 and a beta of 0.95.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter worth approximately $125,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.