StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a report released on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 1.8 %

Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $61.96 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA has a 12-month low of $32.03 and a 12-month high of $70.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.58 and a 200 day moving average of $56.76. 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 (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value 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. The trade was a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock worth $1,958,839 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after acquiring an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 421,000 shares in the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $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.