Zacks Research Predicts Weaker Earnings for Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) - Zacks Research dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Hercules Capital in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, December 4th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.01 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $2.02. The consensus estimate for Hercules Capital's current full-year earnings is $2.02 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hercules Capital's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.48 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.49 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.99 EPS.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.80 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 65.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS.

HTGC has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hercules Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.40.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of Hercules Capital stock traded up $0.60 on Friday, reaching $19.51. The stock had a trading volume of 1,171,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,618. The business's 50 day moving average is $19.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.64. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.36. Hercules Capital has a 1 year low of $15.18 and a 1 year high of $21.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.21%.

Insider Transactions at Hercules Capital

In other Hercules Capital news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $1,959,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,161,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,338,045.13. This represents a 4.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTGC. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 1,861.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 407,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 386,367 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Hercules Capital by 2,067.0% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 353,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 336,921 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 11.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,824,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,768,000 after purchasing an additional 298,992 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,015,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $2,005,000. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.