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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research report released on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $56.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.56. Heartland Financial USA has a one year low of $26.44 and a one year high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 39.36 and a beta of 0.95.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 83.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth $83,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% during the 1st 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth $125,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. 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.