Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.92.

Several brokerages recently commented on HTGC. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered 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 reduced 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 1.2%

HTGC opened at $17.80 on Monday. 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 has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $22.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.26.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.43 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. Hercules Capital’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is currently 120.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In other news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos bought 5,999 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.49 per share, for a total transaction of $104,922.51. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,180.40. This trade represents a 100.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 85.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 413,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,942,000 after purchasing an additional 7,224 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 70.7% during the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 93,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 38,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 170.3% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 336,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,474,000 after purchasing an additional 212,325 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.