Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Short Interest Update

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,210,000 shares, an increase of 35.3% from the February 28th total of 4,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 0.6 %

Hercules Capital stock opened at $19.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Hercules Capital has a 52-week low of $16.95 and a 52-week high of $22.04. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.82.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.49. The business had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 53.28%. Analysts predict that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.85%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 177.2% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 239.0% during the fourth quarter. Estabrook Capital Management now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in Hercules Capital by 345.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Hercules Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

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.