Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Compass Point raised their price target on the stock from $18.25 to $20.00. Compass Point currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Hercules Capital traded as high as $21.78 and last traded at $21.78, with a volume of 544412 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.70.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 433,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,505,000 after purchasing an additional 62,826 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 511.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 44,386 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.3% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 406,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,993,000 after buying an additional 34,718 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,667,000 after acquiring an additional 84,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 10.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 401,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 36,886 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.61.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. The firm had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.09 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.38%.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.