SMH Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

SMH Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 40,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $727,000. Hercules Capital comprises approximately 1.5% of SMH Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 5.3% during the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,026,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Hercules Capital by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 290,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 6,815 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Hercules Capital by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 202,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,837,000 after purchasing an additional 100,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Melia Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 813,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,384,000 after purchasing an additional 19,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HTGC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lowered Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price target on Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

NYSE:HTGC opened at $14.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.27 and a 200-day moving average of $18.01. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.77 and a 52 week high of $19.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.88.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The business had revenue of $133.25 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In other Hercules Capital news, Director Thomas J. Fallon purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.88 per share, with a total value of $317,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 120,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,459.72. This trade represents a 19.93% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gayle A. Crowell acquired 6,600 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.20 per share, for a total transaction of $100,320.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 87,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,329,361.60. This represents a 8.16% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 117,015 shares of company stock worth $1,749,620 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.