Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Hercules Capital a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Four of eight analysts rate the stock a buy, one rates it a strong buy and three recommend holding it. The average 12-month price target is $18.46, above the recent $16.73 share price.
• Hercules Capital reported quarterly earnings of $0.50 per share, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 8.4% year over year to $134.4 million but fell short of expectations.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share, implying a $1.60 annualized payout and a 9.6% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 19.69% of the stock.

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.4643.

HTGC has been the topic of several research reports. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 85.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 10,559 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,747 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 78,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of HTGC stock opened at $16.73 on Thursday. Hercules Capital has a 1 year low of $13.70 and a 1 year high of $19.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business's fifty day moving average is $15.79 and its 200-day moving average is $15.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32 and a beta of 0.79.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 67.68%.The business had revenue of $134.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Hercules Capital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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