Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Hits New 12-Month High at $56.92

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.92 and last traded at $56.40, with a volume of 25146 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HTLF shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 0.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.09 and its 200 day moving average is $43.75.

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

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings 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 shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at about $83,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 worth $85,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $99,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the period. 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.