Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

Stock analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HTLF. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

HTLF stock opened at $43.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.76. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $26.44 and a 52-week high of $45.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.98.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA 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 sale, the director now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction of $149,385.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, 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 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTLF. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the first quarter worth $167,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.