Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Stock Has Average Price Target of $18.89

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.89.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HTGC. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price 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 lifted their price target for the stock from $15.50 to $18.50 in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTGC. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at about $26,523,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter worth about $14,573,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Hercules Capital during the second quarter worth about $14,501,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,877,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,150,000 after acquiring an additional 713,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,382,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,243,000 after acquiring an additional 678,783 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Shares of HTGC opened at $16.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21 and a beta of 0.82. Hercules Capital has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $19.13. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.24.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 67.68% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $134.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $146.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

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

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company and specialty finance firm that provides debt financing to innovative, growth-oriented companies. The company focuses primarily on venture capital-backed businesses in the technology, life sciences, and sustainable and specialty technology sectors.

Hercules Capital offers secured loans and other forms of growth capital designed to support companies through various stages of development, including expansion, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and initial public offerings.