Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.65, but opened at $10.21. Heritage Commerce shares last traded at $10.61, with a volume of 23,487 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HTBK shares. StockNews.com raised Heritage Commerce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Heritage Commerce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Heritage Commerce Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $658.98 million, a P/E ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Heritage Commerce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. Heritage Commerce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.79%.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Commerce

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 562.4% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,677 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 64.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,365 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 103.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 3,987 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. 75.55% of the stock is currently 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.