Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Short Interest Update

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,670,000 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the October 31st total of 7,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 855,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of HTGC stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.93. The stock had a trading volume of 533,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 948,006. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.65. Hercules Capital has a one year low of $15.14 and a one year high of $21.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 65.07% and a return on equity of 17.88%. The company had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hercules Capital will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.14%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In other Hercules Capital news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $1,959,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,161,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,338,045.13. This trade represents a 4.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,667,000 after acquiring an additional 84,780 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 5,704 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 56.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 6,792 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 97.5% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 19,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 9,517 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 45.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is 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.