Fulton Bank N.A. Trims Holdings in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Fulton Bank N.A. lowered its position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 22.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Melia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 691,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,759,000 after buying an additional 36,325 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 154.8% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,950,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 296,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,945,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $198,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Hercules Capital stock opened at $19.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $19.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.36. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.05 and a twelve month high of $20.01.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $121.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.86 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 69.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.68%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is presently 72.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hercules Capital from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.56.

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.