DnB Asset Management AS Increases Holdings in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,859 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS owned approximately 0.09% of Hercules Capital worth $3,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HTGC. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,438,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,078,000 after buying an additional 323,028 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 1,909.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 327,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,579,000 after acquiring an additional 311,167 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $3,281,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 443,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,902,000 after purchasing an additional 150,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,324,000. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 6.8 %

HTGC stock traded down $1.26 on Friday, hitting $17.18. 3,326,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,025,874. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.13. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.92 and a twelve month high of $22.04. The business's fifty day moving average is $20.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.80.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. The business had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.09 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 99.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTGC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Compass Point raised their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.40.

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.