Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC)

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 8,000 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 886% compared to the typical volume of 811 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Hercules Capital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased 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 target on shares of 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 reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.40.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Hercules Capital stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.89. 2,033,744 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a current ratio of 2.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.38. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $16.95 and a 12 month high of $22.04. The business's 50-day moving average is $20.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.81.

Remove Ads

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

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.95%. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio is 99.38%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,438,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,078,000 after purchasing an additional 323,028 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,815,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,558,000 after purchasing an additional 77,869 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 946,700 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,018,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,456,000 after purchasing an additional 62,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 488,172 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.