Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Hercules Capital shares gapped down from $19.43 to $18.85 at market open, with recent trading around $19.16 and a volume of 219,303 shares.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.47, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.88 and a yield of 9.8%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Hercules Capital, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $20.58, while some firms have lowered their price targets following recent trades.

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.43, but opened at $18.85. Hercules Capital shares last traded at $19.16, with a volume of 219,303 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HTGC. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.58.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.9%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $18.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.76. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 51.46% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The company had revenue of $137.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $129.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. This is an increase from Hercules Capital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 105.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 843,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,412,000 after purchasing an additional 247,862 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,253,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,909,000 after purchasing an additional 77,187 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $323,000. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 143,346 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,620,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. 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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