Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management sharply increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 680.6% in the first quarter, ending with 151,796 shares valued at about $2.24 million.
• Institutional ownership activity was mixed but active overall, with several firms adding to positions; institutions and hedge funds now own 19.69% of Hercules Capital.
• Analysts are broadly cautious-to-positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $18.21, while Hercules Capital also recently posted earnings of $0.48 per share and maintained a quarterly dividend.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 680.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 132,351 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC owned 0.08% of Hercules Capital worth $2,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 759,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,298,000 after purchasing an additional 70,235 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 123.6% in the 4th quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 239,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,510,000 after buying an additional 132,466 shares during the period. Triad Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,958,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,018,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,173,000 after buying an additional 133,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings 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 worth $31,464,000 after buying an additional 353,092 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hercules Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.21.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Hercules Capital stock opened at $15.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50 day moving average is $15.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.23. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.70 and a 52-week high of $19.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $134.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $141.39 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 59.85%.Hercules Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is 90.40%.

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.

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