Insider Buying: Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Director Purchases 20,000 Shares of Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Thomas Fallon bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.20 per share, with a total value of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 150,369 shares in the company, valued at $2,135,239.80. This trade represents a 15.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 7.9%

Hercules Capital stock traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.22. The company had a trading volume of 10,141,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,990. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.10 and a 12-month high of $21.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The firm had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 24,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.8% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 11.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 143,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,620,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital News Roundup

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

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.