Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $69.97 and last traded at $69.97, with a volume of 18697 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 0.4 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The business had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $800,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $601,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,626,000. Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,397 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,418,000 after buying an additional 7,017 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.