Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $64.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.27. Heartland Financial USA has a twelve month low of $32.33 and a twelve month high of $70.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.04%.

Insider Activity at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total transaction of $392,591.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTLF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 77.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 928 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 821.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas raised its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 2,018 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 204.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. 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.