Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Receives $45.60 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLF opened at $66.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.09. Heartland Financial USA has a twelve month low of $32.03 and a twelve month high of $70.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11 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 (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th 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, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,111,000 after buying an additional 54,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,579,000 after purchasing an additional 53,755 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,023,370 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,036,000 after purchasing an additional 47,480 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.