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

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) was the recipient of a large 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 volume of 950,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days.

Hercules Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTGC opened at $19.26 on Friday. Hercules Capital has a one year low of $15.14 and a one year high of $21.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.39.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 65.07%. The business had revenue of $125.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hercules Capital will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.21%.

Insider Transactions at Hercules Capital

In related news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $1,959,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,161,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,338,045.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Scott Bluestein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.59, for a total transaction of $1,959,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,161,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,338,045.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nikos Theodosopoulos bought 1,608 shares of Hercules Capital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.03 per share, for a total transaction of $28,992.24. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,613 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hercules Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the third quarter worth $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 2,067.0% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 353,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 336,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 38.8% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. 19.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Hercules Capital

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.