Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.56.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTGC opened at $20.89 on Wednesday. Hercules Capital has a 1 year low of $14.62 and a 1 year high of $20.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.39.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 69.98% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $121.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 72.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 13,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.69, for a total value of $261,877.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,367.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 13,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.69, for a total value of $261,877.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $83,367.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total value of $33,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,234 shares in the company, valued at $82,986.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.9% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,654,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,968,000 after buying an additional 73,747 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 4.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,525,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,602,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1,567.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,345,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,433,000 after buying an additional 1,265,008 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,006,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,524,000 after purchasing an additional 23,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Melia Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.5% in the first quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 691,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,759,000 after purchasing an additional 36,325 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.