Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLF opened at $68.09 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.47. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $31.47 and a 12 month high of $70.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,601,000 after acquiring an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,049,000 after purchasing an additional 421,000 shares during the period. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth $10,601,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.