Short Interest in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Declines By 12.1%

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 632,300 shares, a decline of 12.1% from the December 15th total of 719,600 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 212,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.78. The stock had a trading volume of 139,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,616. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.75 and a beta of 0.98. Heartland Financial USA has a 12 month low of $32.03 and a 12 month high of $70.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.80 and its 200 day moving average is $58.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock worth $1,958,839 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after acquiring an additional 681,412 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,049,000 after acquiring an additional 421,000 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at about $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter valued at about $10,601,000. Institutional investors 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.