Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.3214.

A number of research firms have commented on HTGC. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

HTGC opened at $18.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.62. Hercules Capital has a fifty-two week low of $15.65 and a fifty-two week high of $22.04.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $138.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.95 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 60.05%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In related news, Director Gayle A. Crowell purchased 6,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.77 per share, with a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,398,978.79. This trade represents a 8.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 173.4% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Hercules Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

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.