Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. USA Financial Formulas raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at $125,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $66.40 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $27.69 and a 52-week high of $68.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.58 and a 200-day moving average of $50.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 8.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

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.