Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $18.50 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.08.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of HTGC stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $19.44. The company had a trading volume of 497,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,943. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $22.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.91. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.93.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $102.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.43 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 45.23%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hercules Capital 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 Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 120.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In related news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos purchased 5,999 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.49 per share, for a total transaction of $104,922.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $209,180.40. This trade represents a 100.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.1% in the second quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 35,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 32.2% during the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 151,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,770,000 after buying an additional 36,871 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,930,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,567,000 after buying an additional 55,885 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 37,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.