HTLF Bank Purchases New Shares in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,478,945 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $55,623,000. Heartland Financial USA makes up about 6.6% of HTLF Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 66.3% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 875 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 219.3% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 993 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 521.5% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Heartland Financial USA by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,031 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Heartland Financial USA stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.17. 36,642 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,973. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.38. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.10 and a 12 month high of $39.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.40. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $144.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 71.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note 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 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Heartland Financial USA from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Heartland Financial USA from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

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.