Centaurus Financial Inc. Takes $1.69 Million Position in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 107,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of Hercules Capital at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Melia Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,735,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $779,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $377,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the second quarter valued at about $679,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at about $4,095,000. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.46.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE HTGC opened at $17.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.79. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.70 and a 1-year high of $19.62.

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

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is currently 79.60%.

Hercules Capital Profile

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.