StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $60.87 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.53. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $32.03 and a 12 month high of $70.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly 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. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. The business had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,743 shares of company stock worth $1,958,839 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. USA Financial Formulas lifted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter worth about $238,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

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.