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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $65.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.53. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $29.67 and a 1-year high of $69.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The business had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas increased 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 acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter worth $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter worth $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

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.