Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Shares Gap Down to $18.58

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.58, but opened at $18.12. Hercules Capital shares last traded at $18.06, with a volume of 459,485 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on HTGC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.13.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The company had revenue of $125.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.99 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 57.82% and a return on equity of 18.22%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.71%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 72.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hercules Capital

In related news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos acquired 1,608 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.03 per share, for a total transaction of $28,992.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,202.39. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total transaction of $33,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,986.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos acquired 1,608 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.03 per share, with a total value of $28,992.24. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,202.39. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTGC. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 15,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 3.5% in the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 16,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 28.9% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accel Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 15,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.