Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

HTBK has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Heritage Commerce from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Heritage Commerce in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Raymond James set a $10.00 target price on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Commerce Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:HTBK traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.48. The company had a trading volume of 398,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,822. The business's 50 day moving average price is $9.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.60. Heritage Commerce has a 1-year low of $7.74 and a 1-year high of $11.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $583.93 million, a PE ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.79.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. Heritage Commerce had a return on equity of 5.96% and a net margin of 16.12%. The company had revenue of $46.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.89 million. Research analysts forecast that Heritage Commerce will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Commerce

In other Heritage Commerce news, CEO Robertson Clay Jones, Jr. sold 5,145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.73, for a total transaction of $50,060.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,227 shares in the company, valued at $2,473,628.71. This represents a 1.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Commerce

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTBK. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 14,466 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 158,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,485,000 after buying an additional 7,614 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 95,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 4,738 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 310,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 45,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Heritage Commerce during the 4th quarter worth $99,000. 75.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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