Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.92.

HTGC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Compass Point increased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Shares of HTGC opened at $17.50 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.97. Hercules Capital 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 results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $102.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.43 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.30%.

Insider Transactions at Hercules Capital

In related news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos purchased 5,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.49 per share, for a total transaction of $104,922.51. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,180.40. This trade represents a 100.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Hercules Capital by 205.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,406,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,265,000 after acquiring an additional 946,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter worth $14,871,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Hercules Capital by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 945,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,002,000 after acquiring an additional 488,172 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 1,834.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 429,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,621,000 after acquiring an additional 406,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter worth $7,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company's stock.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.

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