JMP Securities Reaffirms Market Outperform Rating for Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC)

JMP Securities reissued their market outperform rating on shares of Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $22.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HTGC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Hercules Capital Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HTGC opened at $21.26 on Friday. Hercules Capital has a 12 month low of $16.95 and a 12 month high of $21.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.24 and a 200-day moving average of $19.62.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.88% and a net margin of 65.07%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.21%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,438,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,078,000 after purchasing an additional 323,028 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,815,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,558,000 after purchasing an additional 77,869 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hercules Capital by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,018,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,456,000 after purchasing an additional 62,610 shares during the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 760,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,276,000 after acquiring an additional 16,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,871,000. 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.