Hercules Capital Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HTGC)

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 28,062 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,224% compared to the average volume of 2,119 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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 target on Hercules Capital in a report on Monday, December 15th. Piper Sandler lowered Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $20.50 to $17.50 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 7.1%

HTGC stock traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $14.33. 6,268,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,526,279. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.73 and its 200-day moving average is $18.21. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $14.16 and a 12 month high of $21.14. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hercules Capital 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.43%.

Insider Activity at Hercules Capital

In other news, Director Robert P. Badavas acquired 5,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.01 per share, with a total value of $75,050.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 117,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,757,265.73. The trade was a 4.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos acquired 6,165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.93 per share, with a total value of $98,208.45. Following the acquisition, the director owned 18,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,443.39. This trade represents a 48.32% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders acquired 71,065 shares of company stock worth $1,093,012. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Hercules Capital by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 85.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 10,559 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 15,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 621,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,365,000 after acquiring an additional 122,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

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.