Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Short Interest Up 5.4% in October

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,480,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the September 30th total of 6,150,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 950,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.83.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTGC traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.92. 241,364 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 907,850. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Hercules Capital has a 52-week low of $15.14 and a 52-week high of $21.78. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.39.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 57.82% and a return on equity of 18.03%. The firm had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Hercules Capital news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $1,959,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,161,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,338,045.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hercules Capital news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total value of $1,959,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,161,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,338,045.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos purchased 1,608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.03 per share, for a total transaction of $28,992.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,202.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTGC. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 10.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,115,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,873,000 after purchasing an additional 290,579 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 303,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,968,000 after buying an additional 6,671 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 15,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Hercules Capital by 59,650.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 3.9% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 29,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.