Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Friday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the bank's stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $66.40. 208,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 290,279. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $57.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $27.69 and a 1-year high of $68.43. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.09 and a beta of 0.94.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 11.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $105,999,000 after purchasing an additional 182,245 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at $46,626,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,601,000 after buying an additional 681,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.