Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF – Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 412,600 shares, a growth of 40.1% from the November 30th total of 294,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 130,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.
Heartland Financial USA Price Performance
Shares of Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $46.62 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA has a 1-year low of $39.27 and a 1-year high of $53.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.
Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 31st. The bank reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 27.90% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business had revenue of $185.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $183.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. Heartland Financial USA’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Heartland Financial USA Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 10th. This is a boost from Heartland Financial USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.88%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
HTLF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Heartland Financial USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Heartland Financial USA to $52.00 in a report on Friday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Heartland Financial USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Heartland Financial USA to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, November 4th.
Institutional Trading of Heartland Financial USA
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,577,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $198,461,000 after purchasing an additional 47,729 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,028,089 shares of the bank’s stock worth $144,834,000 after purchasing an additional 187,955 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,053,905 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,059,000 after acquiring an additional 73,970 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,631,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,748,000 after acquiring an additional 83,504 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,103,156 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,764,000 after acquiring an additional 83,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.33% of the company’s stock.
Heartland Financial USA Company Profile
Heartland Financial USA, Inc, a multi-bank holding company, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking and other demand deposit accounts; NOW, savings, money market, individual retirement, and health savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.
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