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

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.7083.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HTGC shares. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hercules Capital from $19.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.0%

HTGC stock opened at $14.05 on Friday. Hercules Capital has a 52 week low of $13.77 and a 52 week high of $19.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.87.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $141.57 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Fallon purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.20 per share, for a total transaction of $284,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 150,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,135,239.80. This trade represents a 15.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Badavas purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.27 per share, with a total value of $71,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 122,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,741,981.71. The trade was a 4.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 117,015 shares of company stock worth $1,749,620 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $11,199,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 425.6% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 580,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,610,000 after acquiring an additional 469,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,464,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares during the period. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its position in Hercules Capital by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,335,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,140,000 after purchasing an additional 342,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP increased its position in Hercules Capital by 100.9% during the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 558,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,200,000 after purchasing an additional 280,198 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.