Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stephens

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Stephens from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HTBK. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Heritage Commerce from $12.50 to $11.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Heritage Commerce Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:HTBK opened at $10.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.96. The firm 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 fifty-two week low of $7.66 and a fifty-two week high of $11.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last announced 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 return on equity of 5.96% and a net margin of 16.12%. Analysts predict that Heritage Commerce will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Commerce

In related news, Director Jack W. Conner sold 4,000 shares of Heritage Commerce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.52, for a total transaction of $42,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 108,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,141,546.24. The trade was a 3.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 562.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,677 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Heritage Commerce by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,987 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Commerce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Commerce during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 75.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.