Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stock Holdings in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,382,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 209,854 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $26,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 26.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position 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 buying an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 78,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In related news, Director Paramjeet K. Randhawa bought 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $45,079.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $289,096.80. This trade represents a 18.47% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:HTGC opened at $15.46 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.80. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.70 and a 52-week high of $19.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 59.85% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The business had revenue of $134.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HTGC shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.21.

Hercules Capital 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.