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

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the three research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.67.

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the company’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 transaction of $392,591.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter worth $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% during the third 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 last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth $225,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter worth $225,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ HTLF opened at $67.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $64.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.28. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 0.98. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $32.03 and a 52-week high of $70.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million for 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

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.