Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) EVP Lo B. Nestman Purchases 268 Shares

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) EVP Lo B. Nestman acquired 268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.42 per share, for a total transaction of $10,564.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141,241.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $43.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.44 and a 1-year high of $45.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.85.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 8.17%. The firm had revenue of $279.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.73 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the first quarter worth $167,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTLF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com started coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

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.