Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,190,000 shares, a decline of 5.3% from the December 15th total of 5,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

HTGC stock opened at $20.75 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63. Hercules Capital has a 52-week low of $16.72 and a 52-week high of $21.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.80 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 65.07% and a return on equity of 17.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 177.2% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 43,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 20,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 9,604 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 164,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after buying an additional 24,673 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 382,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.