Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a report issued on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 0.1 %

HTLF opened at $56.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.13 and a beta of 0.95. Heartland Financial USA has a 52 week low of $26.44 and a 52 week high of $57.34.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly 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. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 7.12%. The firm had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,378 shares of the bank’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 8.6% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,211 shares of the bank’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 4.7% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.