Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $69.97 and last traded at $69.97, with a volume of 18697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.31.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The company had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Heartland Financial USA news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at about $46,626,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,601,000 after acquiring an additional 681,412 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,049,000 after acquiring an additional 421,000 shares during the last quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,714,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,601,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

About Heartland Financial USA

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.