SG Americas Securities LLC Makes New $125,000 Investment in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,202 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $125,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HTLF. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,591,000 after purchasing an additional 88,886 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 33.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 5,869 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 67.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 12,795 shares during the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 78.8% during the first quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 25,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $905,000 after buying an additional 11,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 8.6% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,211 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of HTLF opened at $56.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 39.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.44 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.56.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $188.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.92%.

Heartland Financial USA 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.