Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

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

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.1%

Hercules Capital stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 586,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,368. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.93. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $22.04. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $17.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Hercules Capital had a net margin of 45.23% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business had revenue of $102.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 120.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos bought 5,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.49 per share, for a total transaction of $104,922.51. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,180.40. The trade was a 100.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 138,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC now owns 27,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Hercules Capital by 0.4% during the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 165,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,181,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Hercules Capital by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.