Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 389,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,055 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $7,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 153,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,093,000 after purchasing an additional 13,859 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Hercules Capital by 301.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 12,302 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 443,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,902,000 after acquiring an additional 150,136 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 224.3% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 109,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 75,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

Shares of HTGC opened at $17.49 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.59 and its 200-day moving average is $19.70. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.65 and a 12 month high of $22.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The business had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. Equities analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Friday, February 14th. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.70.

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.