Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,438,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 323,028 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 2.12% of Hercules Capital worth $69,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 47,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 5,198 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 82,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 1.0 %

HTGC traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.26. 1,933,511 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 755,522. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.95 and a 52 week high of $21.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 1.35.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The business had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 65.07%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.84%. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is 79.21%.

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.