Stephens Upgrades Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) to Strong-Buy

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) was upgraded by research analysts at Stephens from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

HTBK has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Commerce from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Heritage Commerce from $12.50 to $11.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Heritage Commerce Price Performance

Shares of HTBK opened at $10.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.79 and its 200 day moving average is $9.96. The stock has a market cap of $617.93 million, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.96. Heritage Commerce has a 12-month low of $7.66 and a 12-month high of $11.27.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.17 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Commerce will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jack W. Conner sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.52, for a total value of $42,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 108,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,141,546.24. This represents a 3.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Commerce by 18.0% during 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 last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Commerce in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 149.3% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 27,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 16,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 5,523 shares during the last quarter. 75.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.