Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 1,090,740 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session's volume of 978,650 shares.The stock last traded at $18.83 and had previously closed at $19.09.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms recently issued reports on HTGC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hercules Capital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Compass Point increased 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.40.
Get Our Latest Report on HTGC
Hercules Capital Trading Up 2.3 %
The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.80.
Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49. The company had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend
The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is presently 99.38%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HTGC. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 205.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,406,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,265,000 after buying an additional 946,700 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $14,871,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 945,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,002,000 after buying an additional 488,172 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 1,834.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 429,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,621,000 after buying an additional 406,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $7,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company's stock.
About Hercules Capital
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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