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

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

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 2.4 %

HTLF stock opened at $65.24 on Wednesday. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $32.03 and a 1-year high of $70.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.45 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.49 and its 200 day moving average is $54.96.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company posted $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at $470,420.28. This trade represents a 45.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. USA Financial Formulas boosted 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 valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

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.