Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.3214.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price objective on Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th.

Insider Transactions at Hercules Capital

In other Hercules Capital news, Director Gayle A. Crowell acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.77 per share, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,398,978.79. This trade represents a 8.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Hercules Capital by 173.4% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of HTGC opened at $18.71 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.13 and its 200 day moving average is $18.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Hercules Capital has a 12-month low of $15.65 and a 12-month high of $22.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.85.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 60.05% and a return on equity of 16.13%. The business had revenue of $138.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.6%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high‐growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.