Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Sees Large Volume Increase - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Heritage Commerce Corp experienced a surge in trading volume, with 1,018,739 shares traded on Wednesday, a 156% increase from the previous day.
• Wall Street analysts have varied opinions on Heritage Commerce, with price targets ranging from $10.00 to $11.00 and ratings from "overweight" to "sell."
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share on August 21st, reflecting an annualized yield of 5.59% and a payout ratio of 82.54%.

Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,018,739 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 156% from the previous session's volume of 397,258 shares.The stock last traded at $9.56 and had previously closed at $9.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HTBK shares. Raymond James Financial set a $10.00 target price on shares of Heritage Commerce in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Heritage Commerce from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Heritage Commerce from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $11.00 target price on shares of Heritage Commerce in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Commerce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $569.80 million, a P/E ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average is $9.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.60.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $47.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.17 million. Heritage Commerce had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 6.62%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heritage Commerce Corp will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Commerce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. Heritage Commerce's payout ratio is 82.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 8,474 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Heritage Commerce in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,881,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 60,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 18,013 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 5,523 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,302,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,599,000 after purchasing an additional 268,900 shares during the period. 75.55% of the stock is 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.