First Community Trust NA Grows Stake in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

First Community Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,982 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.7% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,298 shares of the bank’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 5.0% in the first quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 69,360 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 3,285 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the first quarter worth approximately $144,000. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 172,414 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Heartland Financial USA by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,444 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares during the last quarter. 68.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Heartland Financial USA stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 70,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,742. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.10 and a fifty-two week high of $51.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.06.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 31st. The bank reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $179.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.53 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 22.98% and a return on equity of 13.48%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 24.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HTLF. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Heartland Financial USA from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heartland Financial USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.75.

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 also accepts various deposit products, including checking and other demand deposit accounts; NOW, savings, money market, individual retirement; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.