Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.07

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.07 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, May 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th.

Hercules Capital has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Hercules Capital has a dividend payout ratio of 80.4% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Analysts expect Hercules Capital to earn $1.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 82.1%.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of HTGC stock opened at $16.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.92 and its 200 day moving average is $16.92. Hercules Capital has a twelve month low of $13.70 and a twelve month high of $19.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 63.80%.The company had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hercules Capital from $17.50 to $16.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hercules Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.04.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.