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

Stock analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a note issued to investors on Saturday. The brokerage set 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 upped their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $57.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.22 and its 200 day moving average is $44.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 0.95. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $26.44 and a 1 year high of $59.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted 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. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The firm had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,032,000 after acquiring an additional 11,207 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 54,030 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,999,000 after purchasing an additional 182,245 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth approximately $46,626,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after buying an additional 681,412 shares during the period. 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.