Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,136,417 shares, a decrease of 31.1% from the December 15th total of 1,650,464 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,765,048 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,765,048 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Heritage Commerce Price Performance

Heritage Commerce stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.85. The company had a trading volume of 689,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,255. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.45 million, a PE ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Heritage Commerce has a 1-year low of $8.09 and a 1-year high of $12.94.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Heritage Commerce had a net margin of 16.31% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The business had revenue of $50.01 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Heritage Commerce will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Commerce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Thursday, November 6th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Heritage Commerce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTBK. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 0.7% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 218,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,423 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 91,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 20,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 2.6% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 68,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HTBK has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.50 price target (up from $12.50) on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Heritage Commerce from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $12.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

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.