StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) in a research note issued on Friday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $66.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.58 and a 200-day moving average of $50.46. Heartland Financial USA has a 52-week low of $27.69 and a 52-week high of $68.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 8.79%. The firm had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the third quarter valued at about $426,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 15,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 5,706 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 105.4% during the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 88,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,038,000 after purchasing an additional 45,601 shares during the period. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 323,577 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,347,000 after purchasing an additional 55,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 107,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,071,000 after buying an additional 5,360 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.