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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a report released on Friday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $61.96 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.58 and a 200-day moving average of $56.76. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $32.03 and a 1-year high of $70.27.

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

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This trade represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLF. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter worth approximately $125,000. 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. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Institutional investors 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.