Quantum Portfolio Management LLC Takes Position in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Quantum Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,273,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $284,666,000. Hercules Capital accounts for about 3.0% of Quantum Portfolio Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC owned 0.10% of Hercules Capital as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTGC. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 0.8% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 25.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 3,382,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,243,000 after acquiring an additional 678,783 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,823,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,316,000 after purchasing an additional 29,292 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 26.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 353,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Hercules Capital by 17.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 209,854 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of HTGC opened at $15.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.65 and a 200-day moving average of $16.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.70 and a 52 week high of $19.67.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.05% and a net margin of 59.85%.The business had revenue of $134.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is presently 90.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HTGC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.21.

Hercules Capital 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.