Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) CFO Seth Meyer Acquires 7,000 Shares

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) CFO Seth Meyer bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.33 per share, for a total transaction of $100,310.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 448,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,427,764.49. The trade was a 1.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 7.9%

NYSE HTGC traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.22. 10,141,365 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,633,990. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.73 and its 200-day moving average is $18.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.10 and a twelve month high of $21.14.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The company had revenue of $133.25 million for 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 business posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.43%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 10,559 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted 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 valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Hercules Capital by 24.4% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 621,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,365,000 after acquiring an additional 122,025 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HTGC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price objective on Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

More Hercules Capital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders (CEO Scott Bluestein, CFO Seth Meyer and several directors) bought stock this week — collectively over ~46,000 shares — signaling management confidence at current levels. See the CEO’s SEC filing for details. CEO SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have modestly lowered fair-value estimates and price targets (examples: consolidated fair value trimmed from ~$21.22 to ~$20.31; several firms trimmed targets and ratings), a recalibration rather than a wholesale downgrade of the thesis. Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options flow — investors bought ~28,062 put contracts (a >1,200% jump vs typical daily put volume) — a strong short-term bearish signal that can amplify downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Hercules cut its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28), reducing income appeal for yield‑seeking investors and increasing concern about payout sustainability (payout ratio ~87%). See company data and dividend details. MarketBeat HTGC
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts (Wells Fargo, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Piper Sandler and others) have pressured sentiment and likely contributed to selling. Analyst Coverage

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.