FY2026 EPS Forecast for Hercules Capital Boosted by Analyst

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their FY2026 earnings estimates for Hercules Capital in a note issued to investors on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.00 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $1.98. The consensus estimate for Hercules Capital’s current full-year earnings is $1.96 per share.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 60.05% and a return on equity of 16.13%. The company had revenue of $138.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HTGC. Wall Street Zen lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hercules Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.32.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:HTGC opened at $18.49 on Monday. Hercules Capital has a 1 year low of $15.65 and a 1 year high of $22.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.85.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gayle A. Crowell bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.77 per share, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,727 shares in the company, valued at $1,398,978.79. This trade represents a 8.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $522,447,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 worth $68,969,000 after purchasing an additional 28,757 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 1.9% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,930,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,567,000 after purchasing an additional 55,885 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 14.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,318,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,938,000 after purchasing an additional 165,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 6.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,253,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,909,000 after purchasing an additional 77,187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

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.