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

Key Points

• Hercules Capital has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight firms, with an average 12-month target price of about $18.21.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $0.48 per share versus estimates of $0.47, while quarterly revenue rose 18.4% year over year to $134.94 million.
• Hercules Capital paid a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 1.8%; insiders have also been buying shares, including the CEO and a director.

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.2083.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $15.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Hercules Capital has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $19.67.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 59.85% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The firm had revenue of $134.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. Hercules Capital's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is presently 90.40%.

Insider Transactions at Hercules Capital

In other news, Director Paramjeet K. Randhawa bought 3,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $45,079.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $289,096.80. This trade represents a 18.47% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Bluestein purchased 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.35 per share, with a total value of $100,450.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,516,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,110,038.65. This trade represents a 0.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 90,850 shares of company stock valued at $1,333,812 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 227,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,353,000 after acquiring an additional 21,590 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Hercules Capital by 1.0% in the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 107,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 10.5% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 64,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 6,144 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 18.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 39,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 6,182 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital in the first quarter valued at $1,837,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company's stock.

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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