Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $66.30, but opened at $64.15. Heartland Financial USA shares last traded at $66.69, with a volume of 23,061 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 0.4 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $64.71 and its 200 day moving average is $58.55. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.23 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. The company had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $189.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

Insider Transactions at Heartland Financial USA

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,274.40. This represents a 28.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas raised its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 0.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 4.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,576 shares of the bank’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.