Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Reaches New 12-Month High at $21.40

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.40 and last traded at $21.36, with a volume of 260361 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.63.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.65. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.98%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total transaction of $33,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,234 shares in the company, valued at $82,986.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 13,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.69, for a total transaction of $261,877.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,367.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total value of $33,320.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $82,986.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTGC. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.3% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,689,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,004,000 after acquiring an additional 35,554 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 4.6% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,525,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,602,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1,567.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,345,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,008 shares in the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 5.5% in the first quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 691,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,759,000 after acquiring an additional 36,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.2% in the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 607,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,427,000 after acquiring an additional 7,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.