Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sets New 12-Month High at $56.92

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $56.92 and last traded at $56.40, with a volume of 25146 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTLF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.75. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.52 and a beta of 0.95.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $188.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. Heartland Financial USA’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth approximately $800,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 90.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,399 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 16,808 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,119 shares of the bank’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth $601,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.