Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 40,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HTGC. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 85.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.0% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 81.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 78,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paramjeet K. Randhawa purchased 3,050 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.78 per share, with a total value of $45,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,096.80. This trade represents a 18.47% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:HTGC opened at $15.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.82. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.70 and a 52-week high of $19.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.66.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 59.85%.The business had revenue of $134.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Hercules Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 90.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HTGC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.21.

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.