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

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HTLF shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $83,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of HTLF opened at $57.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.56. Heartland Financial USA has a fifty-two week low of $26.44 and a fifty-two week high of $59.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 0.95.

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 return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 7.12%. The company had revenue of $188.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. Heartland Financial USA’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.