Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Has $11.90 Million Position in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lessened its position in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 32.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 267,628 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 126,467 shares during the period. Heartland Financial USA accounts for about 2.6% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned about 0.62% of Heartland Financial USA worth $11,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 478,927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,012,000 after purchasing an additional 32,044 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 223.1% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 24,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 17,221 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,827 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 12,795 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,591,000 after buying an additional 88,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock traded up $0.42 on Friday, hitting $55.76. 162,661 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 196,996. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a one year low of $26.44 and a one year high of $56.75. 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 fifty day moving average of $49.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HTLF shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total value of $149,385.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $277,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total value of $149,385.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,318 shares of company stock worth $369,475. Corporate insiders own 1.80% 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.