IFP Advisors Inc Sells 1,319 Shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

IFP Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,319 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Hercules Capital were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Estabrook Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 239.0% in the 4th quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Hercules Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of Hercules Capital stock opened at $19.14 on Tuesday. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $22.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.28 and a 200-day moving average of $18.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $102.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.43 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 45.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.50 to $20.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos purchased 5,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.49 per share, with a total value of $104,922.51. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $209,180.40. The trade was a 100.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hercules Capital Profile

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.