Insider Buying: Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Director Buys 3,300 Shares of Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Wade Loo purchased 3,300 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.98 per share, with a total value of $49,434.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 32,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,849.66. This trade represents a 11.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

HTGC stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Thursday, reaching $15.43. 3,810,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,436,381. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.57 and a twelve month high of $21.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.23.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 15.97% and a net margin of 63.80%.The company had revenue of $133.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is currently 87.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 0.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,647,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,969,000 after buying an additional 28,757 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,823,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,316,000 after acquiring an additional 29,292 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position 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 valued at $31,464,000 after acquiring an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,382,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,004,000 after acquiring an additional 209,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,335,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,140,000 after purchasing an additional 342,967 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HTGC. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 price objective on Hercules Capital in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Hercules Capital Company Profile

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.