Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 681,100 shares, an increase of 12.0% from the October 31st total of 608,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 210,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of HTLF stock traded down $0.25 on Monday, hitting $67.32. The stock had a trading volume of 167,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,490. The stock's 50 day moving average is $61.14 and its 200-day moving average is $53.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61 and a beta of 0.94. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $31.47 and a 52-week high of $70.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA's payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

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 value of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 60,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank's stock worth $114,032,000 after acquiring an additional 11,207 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank's stock worth $118,111,000 after purchasing an additional 54,030 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $105,999,000 after purchasing an additional 182,245 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,579,000 after purchasing an additional 53,755 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,626,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.