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

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reissued by equities researchers at JMP Securities in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $22.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on HTGC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.90.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Hercules Capital stock opened at $20.12 on Monday. Hercules Capital has a 52-week low of $16.67 and a 52-week high of $21.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.38 and its 200 day moving average is $19.65. The company has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.35.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $125.80 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 65.07% and a return on equity of 17.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hercules Capital will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Hercules Capital during the third quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hercules Capital by 59,650.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 2,067.0% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 353,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 336,921 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hercules Capital by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is currently 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.