Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 206,066 Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Hercules Capital, Inc. by 126.2% during the first quarter, owning approximately 369,368 shares worth around $7.1 million.
• Hercules Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.47, an increase from the prior $0.40 dividend, reflecting a yield of 9.7%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.50 EPS, exceeding expectations, and a revenue of $137.46 million, which is a 10% increase from the previous year.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 126.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 369,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 206,066 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.21% of Hercules Capital worth $7,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTGC. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.58.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 1.4%

HTGC stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,007,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,984. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.65 and a 52 week high of $22.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $18.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.75.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $137.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $129.47 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 51.46% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. This is an increase from Hercules Capital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is presently 105.96%.

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.