Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) Short Interest Update

Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,653,535 shares, a growth of 38.0% from the February 12th total of 1,198,150 shares. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 545,872 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 545,872 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Heritage Commerce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,121,000. First Trust Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at $18,616,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at $15,627,000. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 904.2% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 740,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 666,390 shares during the period. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Heritage Commerce during the fourth quarter worth $6,975,000. 75.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTBK has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Heritage Commerce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Heritage Commerce in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Heritage Commerce from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $12.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Heritage Commerce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

Heritage Commerce Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of HTBK traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.13. 514,128 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 574,765. Heritage Commerce has a fifty-two week low of $8.09 and a fifty-two week high of $13.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.83 and a 200-day moving average of $11.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.09 million, a P/E ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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

Heritage Commerce Announces Dividend

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

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.