Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,570,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the March 15th total of 5,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 933,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hercules Capital from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Compass Point lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $17.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Hercules Capital from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five 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, Hercules Capital has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.00.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE HTGC traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.22. The company had a trading volume of 376,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,177. Hercules Capital has a one year low of $12.40 and a one year high of $18.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 1.34.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 73.26%. The company had revenue of $122.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Hercules Capital’s revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hercules Capital will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.54%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.26%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTGC. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 154.8% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its position in Hercules Capital by 220.3% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 2,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Company 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.