Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HTGC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.32.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $18.37 on Friday. Hercules Capital has a 12-month low of $15.65 and a 12-month high of $22.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.53. 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 company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.85.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 60.05% and a return on equity of 16.13%. The company had revenue of $138.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.7%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gayle A. Crowell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.77 per share, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 78,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,398,978.79. This represents a 8.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 37,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the second 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. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.8% in 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 period. 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 worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 0.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hercules Capital Company 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.