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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

HTLF stock opened at $65.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.79 and its 200-day moving average is $51.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.64 and a beta of 0.94. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $29.67 and a 1 year high of $69.91.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.