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

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.0417.

A number of research firms have commented on HTGC. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $17.50 to $16.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th.

Key Headlines Impacting Hercules Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a Q1 total cash distribution of $0.47 per share — provides near‑term cash return that supports income investors and may have helped lift the stock. Hercules Capital Declares a Total Cash Distribution
• Positive Sentiment: Company also declared a quarterly dividend (record May 14, pay May 21) — modest yield but a signal of steady cash return policy. (Company release disclosed April 30.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple plaintiff law firms (Rosen, Faruqi, Schall, Pomerantz, Gross, Glancy, etc.) are issuing reminders and solicitations for lead‑plaintiff applications — these notices increase visibility of the suits but are procedural; the lead‑plaintiff deadline is May 19, 2026. HTGC SHAREHOLDER REMINDER: Faruqi & Faruqi
• Negative Sentiment: New class action filings allege securities law violations tied to a critical short report; plaintiffs seek damages for investors who bought HTGC between May 1, 2025 and Feb 27, 2026 — litigation raises potential for legal costs, distraction, and reputational risk. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Hercules Capital, Inc. Investors to Act
• Negative Sentiment: Hagens Berman highlights allegations from a Hunterbrook Media report claiming Hercules copied deal sourcing from Google Ventures and misstated marks / PIK loan practices — these specific allegations could increase settlement risk if proven and are the substantive driver of several suits. Hercules Capital (HTGC) Under Fire: Class Action Filed

Insider Transactions at Hercules Capital

In other Hercules Capital news, CEO Scott Bluestein acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.08 per share, with a total value of $452,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,509,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,841,435.32. This represents a 1.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos acquired 6,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.93 per share, for a total transaction of $98,208.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 18,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,443.39. This represents a 48.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 117,015 shares of company stock valued at $1,749,620. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTGC. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the first quarter valued at $284,666,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 25.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,382,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,243,000 after buying an additional 678,783 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the third quarter valued at $11,199,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 425.6% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 580,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,610,000 after buying an additional 469,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,464,000 after buying an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:HTGC opened at $16.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.91. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $13.70 and a 12 month high of $19.67.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The business had revenue of $133.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.43%.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high‐growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.