Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Director Buys $75,050.00 in Stock

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Director Robert Badavas acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.01 per share, with a total value of $75,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 117,073 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this link.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

HTGC opened at $14.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77 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. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.10 and a 1 year high of $21.14.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The business had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTGC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Hercules Capital by 173.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 56,797 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 308.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 79,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 60,100 shares during the period. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the third quarter worth $1,042,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 42.3% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 884,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,734,000 after purchasing an additional 263,222 shares during the period. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 34.5% in the third quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 992,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,774,000 after purchasing an additional 254,651 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Hercules Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders (CEO Scott Bluestein, CFO Seth Meyer and several directors) bought stock this week — collectively over ~46,000 shares — signaling management confidence at current levels. See the CEO’s SEC filing for details. CEO SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have modestly lowered fair-value estimates and price targets (examples: consolidated fair value trimmed from ~$21.22 to ~$20.31; several firms trimmed targets and ratings), a recalibration rather than a wholesale downgrade of the thesis. Analyst Note
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options flow — investors bought ~28,062 put contracts (a >1,200% jump vs typical daily put volume) — a strong short-term bearish signal that can amplify downward pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Hercules cut its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28), reducing income appeal for yield‑seeking investors and increasing concern about payout sustainability (payout ratio ~87%). See company data and dividend details. MarketBeat HTGC
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts (Wells Fargo, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Piper Sandler and others) have pressured sentiment and likely contributed to selling. Analyst Coverage

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTGC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 research report on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hercules Capital from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $20.50 to $17.50 in a report on Friday, February 13th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Capital One Financial set a $19.75 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.29.

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.