Melia Wealth LLC Invests $8.73 Million in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Melia Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 553,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,735,000. Hercules Capital makes up approximately 5.0% of Melia Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 25.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,382,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,243,000 after acquiring an additional 678,783 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,823,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,316,000 after purchasing an additional 29,292 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,523,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,464,000 after purchasing an additional 353,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 77.0% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,027,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 446,860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTGC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their price target 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. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.46.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of HTGC stock opened at $17.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.65. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.70 and a 52-week high of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.79.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 67.68%.The company had revenue of $134.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Hercules Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. 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 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 11th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is presently 79.60%.

Hercules Capital Company 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.