Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK) Short Interest Down 8.2% in December

Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 863,400 shares, a decline of 8.2% from the November 30th total of 940,500 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 330,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Heritage Commerce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTBK. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Heritage Commerce by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 46,089 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Commerce by 27.7% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,262 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Heritage Commerce by 20.1% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 3,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Heritage Commerce by 6.9% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 58,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 3,795 shares during the last quarter. 75.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heritage Commerce Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTBK traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 306,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,147. The stock has a market cap of $574.99 million, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.78. Heritage Commerce has a 12-month low of $7.66 and a 12-month high of $11.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Heritage Commerce (NASDAQ:HTBK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. 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 return on equity of 6.37% and a net margin of 17.61%. The business had revenue of $63.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.14 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Commerce will post 0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Commerce Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.54%. Heritage Commerce's payout ratio is currently 73.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Heritage Commerce from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.