Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Now Covered by StockNews.com

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

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $59.84 on Tuesday. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $26.44 and a 52-week high of $61.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $188.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 223.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 24,940 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $877,000 after acquiring an additional 17,221 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 67.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 12,795 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,591,000 after acquiring an additional 88,886 shares during the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $800,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $601,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.