Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $9.89 and traded as high as $10.79. Heritage Commerce shares last traded at $10.65, with a volume of 474,646 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HTBK. Stephens upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Heritage Commerce Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.89. 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 company has a market cap of $652.85 million, a P/E ratio of 16.14 and a beta of 0.96.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. Heritage Commerce had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 5.96%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Heritage Commerce Corp will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Commerce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.88%. Heritage Commerce’s payout ratio is 78.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 38,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 46,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 64.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 17,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 45,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 2,558 shares during the last quarter. 75.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.