Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $16.92 and last traded at $17.40, with a volume of 1285980 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HTGC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $19.50 to $21.50 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

Hercules Capital Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.80. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49. The business had revenue of $121.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. Research analysts expect that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hercules Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hercules Capital by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC now owns 275,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,542,000 after acquiring an additional 67,215 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Hercules Capital by 511.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after buying an additional 44,386 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Hercules Capital by 28.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 387,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,667,000 after acquiring an additional 84,780 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hercules Capital by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 493,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,921,000 after acquiring an additional 60,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Hercules Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $324,000. Institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

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.