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

Stock analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note issued on Monday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $68.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $31.47 and a 12 month high of $70.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.47. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,111,000 after buying an additional 54,030 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $105,999,000 after acquiring an additional 182,245 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,579,000 after acquiring an additional 53,755 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,626,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,023,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,036,000 after purchasing an additional 47,480 shares in the last quarter. 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.