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

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage 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 Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,420.28. The trade was a 45.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,743 shares of company stock worth $1,958,839 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USA Financial Formulas lifted 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $66.60 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $32.03 and a fifty-two week high of $70.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.21 and a beta of 0.98.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is 67.04%.

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.