Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $11.56 and traded as high as $12.61. Heritage Commerce shares last traded at $12.41, with a volume of 704,143 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTBK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Heritage Commerce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.50 price target on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Heritage Commerce from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $12.00 to $14.00 in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.25.

Heritage Commerce Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.80 and a 200 day moving average of $11.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $764.33 million, a P/E ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.79.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Heritage Commerce had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 17.77%.The firm had revenue of $104.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Commerce Corp will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Commerce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Heritage Commerce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTBK. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce during the second quarter worth $16,121,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its position in Heritage Commerce by 231.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Heritage Commerce by 5.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc grew its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 795,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,896,000 after acquiring an additional 183,005 shares during the last quarter. 75.55% of the stock is owned by 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.