Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Director Acquires $45,079.00 in Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Paramjeet Randhawa acquired 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.78 per share, with a total value of $45,079.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,560 shares in the company, valued at $289,096.80. This represents a 18.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 1.6%

HTGC opened at $14.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.01. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.77 and a 1-year high of $19.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

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

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 173.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the second quarter worth about $27,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research note 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hercules Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.