Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages 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 report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.32. The company had a trading volume of 90,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,999. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $61.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Heartland Financial USA has a one year low of $31.47 and a one year high of $70.27.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders 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 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA's payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,601,000 after purchasing an additional 681,412 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,049,000 after purchasing an additional 421,000 shares during the period. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at about $10,601,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently 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.