Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) Trading 5.9% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) were up 5.9% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $9.76 and last traded at $9.73. Approximately 119,462 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 300,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.19.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th 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 5.30%. Heritage Commerce’s payout ratio is currently 73.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Heritage Commerce Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $601.35 million, a PE ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.87.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. Heritage Commerce had a return on equity of 6.37% and a net margin of 17.61%. On average, research analysts expect that Heritage Commerce Corp will post 0.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Heritage Commerce

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTBK. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Commerce during the third quarter valued at $73,000. FMR LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,987 shares during the last quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Commerce in the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in Heritage Commerce in the 3rd quarter worth about $100,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Heritage Commerce during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.55% of the company’s stock.

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.