Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) CEO Purchases $100,450.00 in Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) CEO Scott Bluestein bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.35 per share, with a total value of $100,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,516,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,110,038.65. This represents a 0.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Scott Bluestein also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 24th, Scott Bluestein purchased 30,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $452,400.00.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 7.9%

HTGC traded down $1.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.22. 10,141,365 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,633,990. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.10 and a 1 year high of $21.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The business had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is currently 87.43%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 173.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 56,797 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 308.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 79,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 60,100 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 42.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 884,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,734,000 after buying an additional 263,222 shares during the last quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $1,042,000. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 992,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,774,000 after buying an additional 254,651 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

More Hercules Capital News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders (CEO Scott Bluestein, CFO Seth Meyer and several directors) bought stock this week — collectively over ~46,000 shares — signaling management confidence at current levels. See the CEO’s SEC filing for details. CEO SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have modestly lowered fair-value estimates and price targets (examples: consolidated fair value trimmed from ~$21.22 to ~$20.31; several firms trimmed targets and ratings), a recalibration rather than a wholesale downgrade of the thesis. Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options flow — investors bought ~28,062 put contracts (a >1,200% jump vs typical daily put volume) — a strong short-term bearish signal that can amplify downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Hercules cut its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28), reducing income appeal for yield?seeking investors and increasing concern about payout sustainability (payout ratio ~87%). See company data and dividend details. MarketBeat HTGC
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and price?target cuts (Wells Fargo, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Piper Sandler and others) have pressured sentiment and likely contributed to selling. Analyst Coverage

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTGC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Lucid Cap Mkts upgraded Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high?growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.