Wells Fargo & Company MN Buys 15,836 Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 670,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,836 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.41% of Hercules Capital worth $13,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HTGC. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 34,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 62,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 92,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 30,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company's stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

NYSE HTGC traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.53. 787,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,058,225. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.13. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.65 and a 1 year high of $22.04. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $19.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.58.

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

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 10.73%. Hercules Capital's payout ratio is 99.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.25.

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.