Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Receives $19.92 Average PT from Analysts

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

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

NYSE HTGC traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $17.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 374,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,353. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $22.04. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.28. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.72.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. The business had revenue of $102.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. Hercules Capital's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is 120.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos bought 5,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.49 per share, with a total value of $104,922.51. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $209,180.40. This trade represents a 100.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ares Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 226,606 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,553,000 after purchasing an additional 28,300 shares during the last quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 275,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,542,000 after buying an additional 67,215 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Hercules Capital by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,667,000 after buying an additional 84,780 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 493,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,921,000 after buying an additional 60,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,871,000. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company's stock.

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.