Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Director Robert B. Engel Sells 7,600 Shares

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Director Robert B. Engel sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.26, for a total transaction of $191,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,000 shares in the company, valued at $429,420. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $44.05 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $35.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.10 and a fifty-two week high of $44.47.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.73 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.50% and a net margin of 8.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 695.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 153,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,262 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the 1st quarter worth $167,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 127,262 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,473,000 after buying an additional 9,615 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HTLF shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. TheStreet cut Heartland Financial USA from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Heartland Financial USA from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

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.