Short Interest in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Rises By 10.7%

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,480,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the November 30th total of 4,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 923,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 0.3 %

Hercules Capital stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.09. The company had a trading volume of 960,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 946,375. Hercules Capital has a 1-year low of $16.51 and a 1-year high of $21.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.56%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTGC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hercules Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,115,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,873,000 after buying an additional 290,579 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 1.8% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,737,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,761,000 after purchasing an additional 47,672 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 433,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,505,000 after purchasing an additional 62,826 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 408,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,020,000 after purchasing an additional 36,886 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 1,861.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 407,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 386,367 shares during the period. 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.