Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $66.39 and last traded at $66.39, with a volume of 2257 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.23 and a beta of 0.94.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 11.04%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $220,064.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTLF. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings 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 during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at $83,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter valued at about $125,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. 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.