Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2025 EPS estimates for shares of Hercules Capital in a report issued on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.92 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.91. The consensus estimate for Hercules Capital’s current full-year earnings is $1.96 per share.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $138.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.95 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 51.46% and a return on equity of 16.54%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hercules Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.42.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:HTGC opened at $17.47 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Hercules Capital has a 12-month low of $15.65 and a 12-month high of $22.04.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,104,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.8% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 32.4% in the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 206,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,893,000 after purchasing an additional 50,509 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Hercules Capital in the third quarter worth $179,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 77.0% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,027,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,426,000 after buying an additional 446,860 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In related news, Director Gayle A. Crowell purchased 6,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,398,978.79. This represents a 8.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.02%.

About Hercules Capital

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.