Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 632,300 shares, a decrease of 12.1% from the December 15th total of 719,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 212,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a report on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Shares of HTLF traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.78. The stock had a trading volume of 139,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,616. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.75 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $32.03 and a 12 month high of $70.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.18.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The business had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,420.28. This trade represents a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth about $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,601,000 after acquiring an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,049,000 after acquiring an additional 421,000 shares in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at $10,601,000. 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.