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

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.8929.

A number of analysts have commented on HTGC shares. UBS Group raised shares of Hercules Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $15.50 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Solutions Group LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 18.8% in the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 77,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 12,298 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 12.8% during the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 92,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 10,517 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the second quarter worth $437,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,877,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,150,000 after buying an additional 713,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $17.65 on Monday. Hercules Capital has a 1 year low of $13.70 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.58 and its 200-day moving average is $15.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.81.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 67.68% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business had revenue of $134.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Hercules Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.95 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This is an increase from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Hercules Capital’s dividend 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.