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

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

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $65.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.64 and a beta of 0.94. Heartland Financial USA has a twelve month low of $29.67 and a twelve month high of $69.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. USA Financial Formulas raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at about $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter worth about $225,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.