Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on HTLF. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Heartland Financial USA from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $48.17 on Thursday. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $26.44 and a 1 year high of $48.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.31.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.08. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 11.33%. The firm had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total transaction of $191,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,420. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Robert B. Engel sold 5,928 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.20, for a total transaction of $149,385.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total transaction of $191,976.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,420. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,529 shares of company stock worth $341,387. 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 bought and sold shares of HTLF. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the first quarter valued at $167,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.