Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Director Wade Loo Purchases 3,300 Shares of Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Wade Loo acquired 3,300 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.98 per share, for a total transaction of $49,434.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 32,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $490,849.66. The trade was a 11.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 3.7%

HTGC traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.87. 575,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,375,479. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.84. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.57 and a 1-year high of $21.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $17.73 and its 200-day moving average price 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.

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

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 87.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Hercules Capital by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,647,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,969,000 after purchasing an additional 28,757 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,823,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,316,000 after buying an additional 29,292 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,464,000 after buying an additional 353,092 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,382,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,004,000 after acquiring an additional 209,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,335,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,140,000 after acquiring an additional 342,967 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTGC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

About Hercules Capital

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.