Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.40 Per Share

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a 471.4% increase from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07.

Hercules Capital has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Hercules Capital has a payout ratio of 80.4% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities analysts expect Hercules Capital to earn $1.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 80.4%.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $16.24 on Wednesday. Hercules Capital has a 1 year low of $13.70 and a 1 year high of $19.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.67 and its 200-day moving average is $15.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on HTGC. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. 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 increased their target price on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.