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 research report report published on Tuesday. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HTLF opened at $64.67 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.19. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $32.03 and a 1-year high of $70.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,132,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,049,000 after purchasing an additional 421,000 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter worth approximately $11,404,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,601,683 shares of the bank’s stock worth $98,191,000 after purchasing an additional 145,255 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,506,000. 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.