Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Short Interest Update

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,590,000 shares, a decrease of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 5,470,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of Hercules Capital stock traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $19.26. 1,158,461 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,005,013. Hercules Capital has a 1-year low of $16.95 and a 1-year high of $22.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. The company had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $124.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTGC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hercules Capital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Compass Point raised their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 275,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,542,000 after purchasing an additional 67,215 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 511.2% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 44,386 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 406,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,993,000 after buying an additional 34,718 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,667,000 after purchasing an additional 84,780 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 493,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,921,000 after purchasing an additional 60,776 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company's stock.

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.