Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $15.65 and last traded at $17.49, with a volume of 2416634 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hercules Capital Trading Up 7.7 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 1.13.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The firm had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.09 million. On average, analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 275,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,542,000 after acquiring an additional 67,215 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 511.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 44,386 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 28.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,667,000 after acquiring an additional 84,780 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 493,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,921,000 after acquiring an additional 60,776 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $324,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.