FourThought Financial Partners LLC Takes Position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 34,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 62,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 3.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 92,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Hercules Capital stock opened at $21.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.54 and a 200 day moving average of $19.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 2.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.35. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.95 and a fifty-two week high of $22.04.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. The business had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. As a group, research analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HTGC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

About Hercules Capital

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.