Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 40,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 85.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 78,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paramjeet K. Randhawa acquired 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $45,079.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,096.80. The trade was a 18.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Hercules Capital stock opened at $15.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.66. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a one year low of $13.70 and a one year high of $19.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.82.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 59.85%.The firm had revenue of $134.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on HTGC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.21.

Hercules Capital 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.