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

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

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HTGC shares. Compass Point boosted their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Hercules Capital stock opened at $17.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.97. Hercules Capital has a twelve month low of $15.65 and a twelve month high of $22.04. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $17.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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). The business had revenue of $102.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.43 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.96%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 120.30%.

Insider Activity at Hercules Capital

In other Hercules Capital news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos acquired 5,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.49 per share, for a total transaction of $104,922.51. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $209,180.40. The trade was a 100.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in 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 period. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 62,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in 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 period. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 period. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 0.4% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 165,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,181,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.

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