Robert Badavas Buys 5,000 Shares of Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Robert Badavas purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.01 per share, with a total value of $75,050.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 117,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,265.73. This represents a 4.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $15.43 on Friday. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.57 and a fifty-two week high of $21.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.84.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The firm had revenue of $133.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 85.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 621,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,365,000 after acquiring an additional 122,025 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hercules Capital News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple meaningful insider purchases — CEO Scott Bluestein bought 30,000 shares (~$15.08 avg) and several directors (Badavas, Crowell, Wade Loo) added shares at ~ $14.98–$15.20 — signaling management confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Scott Bluestein SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts modestly reset fair value — one composite model trimmed a target from $21.22 to $20.31 (small pullback, not a large cut), implying mixed but not drastic changes to valuation assumptions. How The Hercules Capital (HTGC) Story Is Shifting
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest surged ~52% in February to ~8.11M shares (about 4.5% of shares), increasing bearish pressure and potential volatility from short activity.
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler and other firms trimmed ratings/targets after Q4: Piper Sandler downgraded HTGC to Neutral and cut its PT to $17.50 (Wells Fargo also lowered its PT). These downgrades add headwinds to sentiment. Piper Sandler Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamentals are mixed: Q4 EPS met consensus ($0.48) but revenue missed expectations and the company announced a reduced quarterly dividend of $0.07 — factors that can weigh on income-focused investors and short-term sentiment.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HTGC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lowered Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Hercules Capital Company 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.