Short Interest in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Increases By 29.7%

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) saw a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 578,300 shares, an increase of 29.7% from the August 15th total of 445,900 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 178,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of HTLF opened at $30.84 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Heartland Financial USA has a fifty-two week low of $26.10 and a fifty-two week high of $51.60.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The bank reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $179.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.53 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 22.98% and a return on equity of 13.48%. Research analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTLF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Heartland Financial USA from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTLF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 30,040 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 20,517 shares of the bank’s stock worth $981,000 after purchasing an additional 6,014 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 2,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,838,023 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,913,000 after purchasing an additional 102,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 61.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,890 shares of the bank’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 4,890 shares in the last quarter. 68.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heartland Financial USA

Heartland Financial USA, Inc, a multi-bank holding company, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It also accepts various deposit products, including checking and other demand deposit accounts; NOW, savings, money market, individual retirement; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.