Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 534,419 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 983,654 shares.The stock last traded at $18.44 and had previously closed at $18.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HTGC. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JMP Securities increased their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31 and a beta of 1.39.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $125.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.99 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 57.82%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total transaction of $33,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,986.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos bought 1,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.03 per share, with a total value of $28,992.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,202.39. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert P. Badavas sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total value of $33,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,986.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HTGC. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 371,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,186,000 after buying an additional 12,222 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 14,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 2,432 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 44,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 18,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 99,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 7,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

About Hercules Capital

Hercules Capital, Inc is a business development company. The firm specializing in providing venture debt, debt, senior secured loans, and growth capital to privately held venture capital-backed companies at all stages of development from startups to expansion stage including select publicly listed companies and select special opportunity lower middle market companies that require additional capital to fund acquisitions, recapitalizations and refinancing and established-stage companies.