Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Compass Point raised their price target on the stock from $18.25 to $20.00. Compass Point currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Hercules Capital traded as high as $21.78 and last traded at $21.78, with a volume of 544412 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.70.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on HTGC. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 177.2% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 239.0% in the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 59,650.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 345.4% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.35.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The firm had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.09 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.54%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.38%.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.