StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF)

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

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Shares of HTLF stock opened at $61.96 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.66. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Heartland Financial USA has a 52 week low of $32.03 and a 52 week high of $70.27.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Institutional investors 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.