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

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Shares of HTLF stock opened at $67.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.89 and a beta of 0.97. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $31.47 and a 12 month high of $70.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.83. 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 (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. The business had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USA Financial Formulas increased its position in 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 buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter worth $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% during 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 period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by 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.