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

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James upgraded Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. TheStreet downgraded Heartland Financial USA from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Heartland Financial USA from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heartland Financial USA currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

NASDAQ HTLF traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 315,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,478. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36 and a beta of 0.98. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $26.44 and a 1 year high of $45.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is 72.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total value of $191,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,000 shares in the company, valued at $429,420. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HTLF Bank bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,623,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 506.3% during the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 394,095 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,852,000 after acquiring an additional 329,095 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,502,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 470.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 272,767 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,028,000 after purchasing an additional 224,975 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,591,000 after purchasing an additional 88,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.