Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $3.28 Million in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 163,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,281,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HTGC. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 177.2% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in Hercules Capital by 345.4% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Hercules Capital by 45.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 199.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:HTGC opened at $18.84 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.38. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.95 and a 12 month high of $22.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.72.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. The firm had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.09 million. Research analysts predict that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.98%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s payout ratio is 99.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HTGC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Hercules Capital in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hercules Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

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.