Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,090,740 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 978,650 shares.The stock last traded at $18.83 and had previously closed at $19.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTGC has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 2.3 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.79.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. The company had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.09 million. Analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $336,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $114,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 59,650.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 303,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,671 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Hercules Capital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 159,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,136,000 after buying an additional 4,978 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

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.