Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 124,353 Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 124,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,837,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 759,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,298,000 after acquiring an additional 70,235 shares during the last quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 123.6% during the fourth quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 239,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 132,466 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,018,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,173,000 after purchasing an additional 133,813 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,464,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,382,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,004,000 after purchasing an additional 209,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 2.5%

HTGC stock opened at $16.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.74 and a 200-day moving average of $15.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a one year low of $13.70 and a one year high of $19.67.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $134.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.71 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 67.68% and a return on equity of 16.13%. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is presently 79.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTGC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.46.

Hercules Capital Profile

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.