Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Heritage Commerce from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $14.50 price objective (up from $12.50) on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research note on Thursday. Stephens lifted their target price on Heritage Commerce from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Heritage Commerce from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.90.

Heritage Commerce Stock Performance

NASDAQ HTBK opened at $12.42 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.23. The company has a market capitalization of $761.10 million, a PE ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.81. Heritage Commerce has a 1 year low of $8.09 and a 1 year high of $12.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $50.01 million during the quarter. Heritage Commerce had a return on equity of 7.18% and a net margin of 16.31%. As a group, analysts expect 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, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 6th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Heritage Commerce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,946,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,191,000 after acquiring an additional 390,978 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 64.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,796,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,142,000 after buying an additional 1,493,857 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,883,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,705,000 after buying an additional 44,948 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,676,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,636,000 after buying an additional 574,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Heritage Commerce in the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,121,000. 75.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Heritage Commerce

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.