Kovack Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 69.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,392 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 133.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hercules Capital by 294.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 3,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.6 %

HTGC stock opened at $19.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.34. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.40 and a fifty-two week high of $19.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a current ratio of 2.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.06.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $122.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.48 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 73.26% and a return on equity of 18.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.07%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTGC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Compass Point lowered shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $17.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

About Hercules Capital

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.