Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Short Interest Up 5.5% in November

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 718,700 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the November 15th total of 681,100 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 210,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jennifer K. Hopkins sold 5,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.56, for a total value of $392,591.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,963 shares in the company, valued at $470,420.28. This represents a 45.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of Heartland Financial USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total value of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,743 shares of company stock valued at $1,958,839. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heartland Financial USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $426,000. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter valued at about $800,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the second quarter worth about $601,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth about $46,626,000. Finally, Slotnik Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA during the second quarter worth about $13,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $66.12 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.80. Heartland Financial USA has a 1 year low of $32.03 and a 1 year high of $70.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The business had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.60.

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.