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

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

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of HTLF stock opened at $69.06 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $61.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA has a twelve month low of $31.47 and a twelve month high of $70.27.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

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

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 0.8% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake 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 worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 9.3% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,576 shares of the bank’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.