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

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.60.

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of HTLF opened at $61.96 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA has a 12-month low of $32.03 and a 12-month high of $70.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.76. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million for 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 10.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock worth $1,958,839. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% in the third 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. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Hedge funds and other 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.