Zacks Research Predicts Weaker Earnings for Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hercules Capital in a research report issued on Monday, June 30th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $0.53 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.54. The consensus estimate for Hercules Capital's current full-year earnings is $1.96 per share.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Hercules Capital had a net margin of 45.23% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business had revenue of $102.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on HTGC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.92.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of HTGC stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.61. The company had a trading volume of 586,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,118,792. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 0.93. Hercules Capital has a one year low of $15.65 and a one year high of $22.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $17.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 82,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,655,000 after buying an additional 33,191 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $319,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $735,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 199.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hercules Capital

In related news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos bought 5,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.49 per share, with a total value of $104,922.51. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 11,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at $209,180.40. The trade was a 100.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.60%. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 120.30%.

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.