Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,190,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the December 15th total of 5,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Hercules Capital stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $20.75. 931,423 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,137. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Hercules Capital has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $21.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.35.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 65.07% and a return on equity of 17.88%. The company had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.26%. Hercules Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.21%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTGC. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Hercules Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 177.2% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 59,650.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 198.9% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 5,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.