Analysts Set Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Target Price at $45.60

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.3 %

Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $66.43 on Thursday. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $32.03 and a 12 month high of $70.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.11 and a beta of 0.98.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is 67.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTLF. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,111,000 after purchasing an additional 54,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,579,000 after buying an additional 53,755 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,023,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,036,000 after buying an additional 47,480 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 681,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,049,000 after acquiring an additional 421,000 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.