1,048,965 Shares in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Bought by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,048,965 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $46,626,000. Magnetar Financial LLC owned about 2.45% of Heartland Financial USA at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HTLF. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 37,550.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $57.41 on Monday. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.44 and a 1-year high of $59.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.56.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HTLF. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.