Analysts Set Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Price Target at $18.21

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.2083.

HTGC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Wednesday, June 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new position in Hercules Capital during the 1st quarter valued at $284,666,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,647,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,969,000 after acquiring an additional 28,757 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,382,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,243,000 after acquiring an additional 678,783 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,823,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,316,000 after acquiring an additional 29,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,464,000 after acquiring an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Hercules Capital stock opened at $15.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.80. Hercules Capital has a 52-week low of $13.70 and a 52-week high of $19.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $134.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.39 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 59.85%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.40%.

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.