Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Shares Sold by Natixis

Natixis lessened its stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,818 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $1,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Hercules Capital by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,438,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,078,000 after purchasing an additional 323,028 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,815,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,558,000 after acquiring an additional 77,869 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,018,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,456,000 after acquiring an additional 62,610 shares during the period. Melia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 760,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,276,000 after acquiring an additional 16,786 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth $14,871,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Compass Point upped their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.92.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Hercules Capital stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.93. 256,263 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,056,216. 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, Inc. 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 $18.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.48. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.13.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The firm had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. Analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.49%. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is currently 99.38%.

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.