StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Stock analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $57.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.77. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $26.44 and a 52-week high of $61.46.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $188.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.19 million. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,591,000 after acquiring an additional 88,886 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,256 shares of the bank’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 5,869 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,827 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 12,795 shares during the period. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 25,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 11,346 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,211 shares of the bank’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

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.