Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Large Volume Increase After Strong Earnings

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 509,622 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 78% from the previous session’s volume of 286,247 shares.The stock last traded at $42.89 and had previously closed at $41.13.

The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $279.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTLF shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet lowered shares of Heartland Financial USA from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 5.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,560 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 292,015 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 5.9% in the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 23,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 2.4 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 1.06.

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.