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

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

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 2.2 %

Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $64.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13 and a beta of 0.98. Heartland Financial USA has a fifty-two week low of $32.33 and a fifty-two week high of $70.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.15. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is currently 67.04%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In related news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 928 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 821.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 2,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 204.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the fourth quarter worth 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.