Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Receives $45.60 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $59.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.95. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $26.44 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $55.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.74.

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

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% during 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. 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.