Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Compass Point raised their price target on the stock from $18.25 to $20.00. Compass Point currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Hercules Capital traded as high as $21.78 and last traded at $21.78, with a volume of 544412 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.70.

HTGC has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 433,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,505,000 after buying an additional 62,826 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 511.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 44,386 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 9.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 406,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,993,000 after purchasing an additional 34,718 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 28.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,667,000 after purchasing an additional 84,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 401,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 36,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.61.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The firm had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.09 million. Analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.63%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.38%.

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.