Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 509,622 shares were traded 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $279.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.73 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 71.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTLF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $41.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TheStreet cut Heartland Financial USA from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James upgraded Heartland Financial USA from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Heartland Financial USA from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,623,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the fourth quarter valued at $11,502,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 470.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 272,767 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,028,000 after acquiring an additional 224,975 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,591,000 after acquiring an additional 88,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 166.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,179,000 after acquiring an additional 88,739 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Up 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.76.

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.