Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Stock Price

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $11.50 to $11.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Separately, Stephens upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Heritage Commerce Trading Down 0.4 %

Heritage Commerce stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 324,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,630. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.76. Heritage Commerce has a 12 month low of $7.74 and a 12 month high of $11.27. The stock has a market cap of $556.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

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

Heritage Commerce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Heritage Commerce's payout ratio is currently 76.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Commerce

In related news, CEO Robertson Clay Jones, Jr. sold 5,145 shares of Heritage Commerce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.73, for a total transaction of $50,060.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,473,628.71. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack W. Conner sold 4,000 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,141,546.24. This trade represents a 3.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,747 shares of company stock valued at $107,728. 2.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTBK. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 7.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 216,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,139,000 after buying an additional 14,466 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,350,000 after buying an additional 170,989 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Heritage Commerce by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 103,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 36,997 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 46,089 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 90.5% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 30,192 shares during the period. 75.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Heritage Commerce Company Profile

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.