Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HTBK has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Heritage Commerce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Heritage Commerce from $12.50 to $11.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Heritage Commerce Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTBK opened at $10.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $617.93 million, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.96. Heritage Commerce has a 52 week low of $7.66 and a 52 week high of $11.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $9.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.96.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. Heritage Commerce had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 5.96%. Research analysts predict that Heritage Commerce will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Commerce Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Heritage Commerce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.79%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Commerce

In other Heritage Commerce news, Director Jack W. Conner sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.52, for a total value of $42,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 108,512 shares in the company, valued at $1,141,546.24. The trade was a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTBK. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 562.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 2,677 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 64.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 103.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 3,987 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at about $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.55% of the company’s stock.

About Heritage Commerce

Heritage Commerce Corp operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank of Commerce that provides various commercial and personal banking services to residents and the business/professional community in California. Its deposit products for business banking and retail markets include interest and non-interest-bearing demand, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and time deposits.