Palogic Value Management L.P. Takes $679,000 Position in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Palogic Value Management L.P. acquired a new position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 43,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Burk Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 113.1% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HTGC. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.46.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of Hercules Capital stock opened at $17.63 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.26 and a 200 day moving average of $15.64. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $19.62. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $134.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.71 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 67.68% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is presently 79.60%.

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.