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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $53.48 on Thursday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.91. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $26.44 and a 1-year high of $56.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22 and a beta of 0.95.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 7.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction of $149,385.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,318 shares of company stock valued at $369,475. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth approximately $800,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 90.4% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,399 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 16,808 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 4.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,601,000 after buying an additional 681,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth about $601,000. Hedge funds and other 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.