Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Price Target Raised to $22.00 at Piper Sandler

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) had its target price boosted by Piper Sandler from $21.50 to $22.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $18.63.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $21.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Hercules Capital has a 52-week low of $15.02 and a 52-week high of $21.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.58.

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

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.12%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total transaction of $33,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,234 shares in the company, valued at $82,986.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total transaction of $33,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,234 shares in the company, valued at $82,986.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 13,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.69, for a total transaction of $261,877.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,367.46. 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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 2.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 73,747 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 4.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 1,567.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,265,008 shares during the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 5.5% in the first quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 691,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,759,000 after acquiring an additional 36,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 0.8% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 379,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,762,000 after acquiring an additional 2,875 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.