Thomas Fallon Buys 20,000 Shares of Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Thomas Fallon acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.20 per share, for a total transaction of $284,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 150,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,135,239.80. The trade was a 15.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of HTGC opened at $14.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.10 and a twelve month high of $21.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.17.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The business had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 63.80%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.43%.

Key Stories Impacting Hercules Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders (CEO Scott Bluestein, CFO Seth Meyer and several directors) bought stock this week — collectively over ~46,000 shares — signaling management confidence at current levels. See the CEO’s SEC filing for details. CEO SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have modestly lowered fair-value estimates and price targets (examples: consolidated fair value trimmed from ~$21.22 to ~$20.31; several firms trimmed targets and ratings), a recalibration rather than a wholesale downgrade of the thesis. Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options flow — investors bought ~28,062 put contracts (a >1,200% jump vs typical daily put volume) — a strong short-term bearish signal that can amplify downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Hercules cut its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28), reducing income appeal for yield‑seeking investors and increasing concern about payout sustainability (payout ratio ~87%). See company data and dividend details. MarketBeat HTGC
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts (Wells Fargo, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Piper Sandler and others) have pressured sentiment and likely contributed to selling. Analyst Coverage

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 0.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,647,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,969,000 after buying an additional 28,757 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,823,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,316,000 after acquiring an additional 29,292 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,464,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,382,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,004,000 after purchasing an additional 209,854 shares during the period. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,335,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,140,000 after purchasing an additional 342,967 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded shares of Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

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.