Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.2083.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of 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 cut their price target on shares of 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $16.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.79. Hercules Capital has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $19.67.

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

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 90.40%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

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

About Hercules Capital

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.