Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) CFO Acquires $100,310.00 in Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) CFO Seth Meyer bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.33 per share, for a total transaction of $100,310.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 448,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,427,764.49. This trade represents a 1.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of HTGC stock traded down $1.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.22. The company had a trading volume of 10,141,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,990. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a one year low of $14.10 and a one year high of $21.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.21.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The firm had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 63.80%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 87.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 173.4% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders (CEO Scott Bluestein, CFO Seth Meyer and several directors) bought stock this week — collectively over ~46,000 shares — signaling management confidence at current levels. See the CEO’s SEC filing for details. CEO SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have modestly lowered fair-value estimates and price targets (examples: consolidated fair value trimmed from ~$21.22 to ~$20.31; several firms trimmed targets and ratings), a recalibration rather than a wholesale downgrade of the thesis. Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options flow — investors bought ~28,062 put contracts (a >1,200% jump vs typical daily put volume) — a strong short-term bearish signal that can amplify downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Hercules cut its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28), reducing income appeal for yield?seeking investors and increasing concern about payout sustainability (payout ratio ~87%). See company data and dividend details. MarketBeat HTGC
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and price?target cuts (Wells Fargo, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Piper Sandler and others) have pressured sentiment and likely contributed to selling. Analyst Coverage

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $20.50 to $17.50 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.29.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high?growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.