Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Receives $45.60 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:HTLF traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.74. The company had a trading volume of 204,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,636. 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 50-day moving average price of $64.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA has a 52 week low of $32.03 and a 52 week high of $70.27.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA's payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,274.40. This trade represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 302,294 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,437,000 after buying an additional 12,565 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 40.7% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,172 shares of the bank's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,364 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 14.1% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,543 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,287 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 781.5% in the second quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 73,507 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 65,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 82,732 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 2,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company's stock.

Heartland Financial USA Company Profile

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.