Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Holdings Raised by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 131,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,235 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $2,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,438,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,078,000 after purchasing an additional 323,028 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1,909.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 327,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,579,000 after buying an additional 311,167 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $2,324,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 28.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,667,000 after acquiring an additional 84,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,815,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,558,000 after acquiring an additional 77,869 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 0.3 %

HTGC opened at $21.40 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.35. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.95 and a 12 month high of $22.04.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. The company had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. As a group, research analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Compass Point upped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.40.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company. The firm specializing in providing venture debt, debt, senior secured loans, and growth capital to privately held venture capital-backed companies at all stages of development from startups to expansion stage including select publicly listed companies and select special opportunity lower middle market companies that require additional capital to fund acquisitions, recapitalizations and refinancing and established-stage companies.