Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.25.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Heritage Commerce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $14.00 in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Heritage Commerce from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Heritage Commerce Price Performance

NASDAQ:HTBK opened at $12.13 on Friday. Heritage Commerce has a one year low of $8.09 and a one year high of $13.82. The stock has a market cap of $747.09 million, a PE ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.45.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $104.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.78 million. Heritage Commerce had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 17.77%. Equities research analysts expect that Heritage Commerce will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Commerce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Heritage Commerce’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Heritage Commerce during the second quarter worth $16,121,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Heritage Commerce by 38.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 173,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 48,130 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 231.1% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 64,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 45,350 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 5.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,544,000 after buying an additional 87,229 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce during the second quarter valued at about $389,000. 75.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heritage Commerce Company Profile

Heritage Commerce Corporation, headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, is the bank holding company for Heritage Bank, N.A., a community-oriented financial institution. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol HTBK, the company focuses on delivering tailored banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals throughout Southeastern Michigan.

Heritage Bank, N.A. offers a comprehensive portfolio of deposit and lending products designed to meet the needs of commercial and consumer clients.