Analysts Set Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) PT at $45.60

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 3.7 %

HTLF stock opened at $68.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.48 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.80. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $27.69 and a 52-week high of $69.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 8.79%. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at about $426,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 15,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 5,706 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 88,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,038,000 after buying an additional 45,601 shares in the last quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 323,577 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,347,000 after buying an additional 55,949 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,071,000 after buying an additional 5,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

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.