Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Receives $18.21 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.2083.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HTGC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group upped their target price 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 target on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of 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.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 1.3%

HTGC stock opened at $16.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.79. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $13.70 and a 12 month high of $19.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.03.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $134.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.39 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 59.85% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hercules Capital will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 90.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 85.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 81.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.