StockNews.com Initiates 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 Sunday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

HTLF opened at $68.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.88 and a 200 day moving average of $52.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $29.67 and a 52-week high of $70.27.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This trade represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas grew 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 purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.