Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $15.66 and traded as high as $16.66. Hercules Capital shares last traded at $16.6150, with a volume of 1,634,547 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HTGC. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on Hercules Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.46.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.5%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.79.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $134.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.71 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 67.68% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Hercules Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.6%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.60%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 123.6% in the fourth quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 239,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 132,466 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,671,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,464,000 after buying an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,382,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,004,000 after buying an additional 209,854 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,382,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,243,000 after buying an additional 678,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $898,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high‐growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.