Confluence Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Hercules Capital, Inc. $HTGC

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81,265 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Hercules Capital worth $5,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HTGC. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 173.4% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, CNB Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 19.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HTGC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hercules Capital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hercules Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Hercules Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.32.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:HTGC opened at $18.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.85. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.65 and a 12-month high of $22.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $138.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.95 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 60.05% and a return on equity of 16.13%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.7%. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gayle A. Crowell purchased 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.77 per share, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 78,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,398,978.79. This represents a 8.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.