Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) Short Interest Update

Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 551,700 shares, an increase of 30.2% from the January 31st total of 423,800 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 369,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HTBK. StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Commerce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Heritage Commerce from $12.50 to $11.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 sale, the director now owns 108,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,141,546.24. This represents a 3.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTBK. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Commerce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $125,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 130,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 19,972 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 149.3% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 27,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 16,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 5,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.55% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Commerce Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTBK traded down $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.12. 475,558 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 411,258. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.96. Heritage Commerce has a 12 month low of $7.66 and a 12 month high of $11.27. The firm has a market cap of $620.39 million, a PE ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.96.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.17. Heritage Commerce had a return on equity of 5.96% and a net margin of 16.12%. Research analysts expect that Heritage Commerce will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Commerce Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Heritage Commerce’s payout ratio is presently 78.79%.

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.