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

SMH Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 59,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000. Hercules Capital comprises 3.8% of SMH Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,523,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the second quarter valued at about $14,573,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at about $14,501,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 22.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,877,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,150,000 after buying an additional 713,653 shares during the period. Finally, Melia Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at about $8,735,000. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

NYSE:HTGC opened at $16.56 on Tuesday. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.70 and a 12-month high of $19.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.17.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $135.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.11 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 67.68% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.94 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, November 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is a drop from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 86.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HTGC. UBS Group raised Hercules Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $15.50 to $18.50 in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Hercules Capital from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price objective on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.89.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company and specialty finance firm that provides debt financing to innovative, growth-oriented companies. The company focuses primarily on venture capital-backed businesses in the technology, life sciences, and sustainable and specialty technology sectors.

Hercules Capital offers secured loans and other forms of growth capital designed to support companies through various stages of development, including expansion, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and initial public offerings.