Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Sets New 52-Week High at $18.90

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $18.90 and last traded at $18.84, with a volume of 256866 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTGC has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Compass Point lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $17.50 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a current ratio of 2.75. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 1.34.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $122.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.48 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 73.26% and a return on equity of 18.60%. Hercules Capital's revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.18%. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.26%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 154.8% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 28.9% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.