Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research report released on Saturday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 0.1 %

HTLF opened at $57.46 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA has a fifty-two week low of $26.44 and a fifty-two week high of $59.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.38 and its 200 day moving average is $44.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 7.12%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the company’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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth about $83,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.