Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $16.07 and traded as high as $16.75. Hercules Capital shares last traded at $16.5680, with a volume of 972,241 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HTGC. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group raised Hercules Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $15.50 to $18.50 in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Hercules Capital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.89.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.08.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $134.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.71 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 67.68% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. This is a boost from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.60%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Burk Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company and business development company that provides financing to venture capital- and private equity-backed companies. Founded in 2003, the company was formerly known as Hercules Technology Growth Capital and focuses on supporting businesses in technology, life sciences, and other innovation-oriented industries.

Hercules Capital offers secured and unsecured venture debt, growth capital, equipment financing, working capital facilities, acquisition financing, and recapitalization solutions.