Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a report published on Tuesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $66.20 on Tuesday. Heartland Financial USA has a 52 week low of $32.03 and a 52 week high of $70.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.98 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.47.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The company had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. USA Financial Formulas raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $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.