Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note published on Friday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $50.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA has a 52 week low of $26.44 and a 52 week high of $52.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.73 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 11.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total transaction of $191,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,420. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total value of $149,385.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total value of $191,976.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,000 shares in the company, valued at $429,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,529 shares of company stock valued at $341,387 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,032,000 after buying an additional 11,207 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,043,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,860,000 after purchasing an additional 62,177 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,623,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 478,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,012,000 after purchasing an additional 32,044 shares during the period. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 506.3% during the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 394,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,852,000 after purchasing an additional 329,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.