Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC Stock Position Decreased by Ares Management LLC

Key Points

• Ares Management LLC reduced its stake in Hercules Capital, Inc. by 11.0%, selling 25,000 shares during the first quarter.
• Hercules Capital announced a dividend increase to $0.47 per share, representing a 9.6% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 105.96%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $20.58 for Hercules Capital, with ratings indicating a moderate buy outlook.

Ares Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Hercules Capital comprises approximately 0.2% of Ares Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Ares Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Hercules Capital worth $3,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Hercules Capital during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hercules Capital during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 51.8% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company's stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.3%

Hercules Capital stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $19.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 541,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 943,547. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.11 and its 200 day moving average is $18.59. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $22.04.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $137.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.47 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 51.46%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a boost from Hercules Capital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.58.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company. The firm specializing in providing venture debt, debt, senior secured loans, and growth capital to privately held venture capital-backed companies at all stages of development from startups to expansion stage including select publicly listed companies and select special opportunity lower middle market companies that require additional capital to fund acquisitions, recapitalizations and refinancing and established-stage companies.