Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.3214.

A number of research firms have issued reports on HTGC. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on Hercules Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 5.9% in the first 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 during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 85.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 26.0% in the 1st 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. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 203,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,715,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 15.4% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,396 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $16.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Hercules Capital has a 1-year low of $15.65 and a 1-year high of $22.04.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

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.