Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) was the target of a large 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 trading volume, of 1,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hercules Capital Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of HTGC stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $19.22. 694,913 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,019. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.38. Hercules Capital has a 12-month low of $16.95 and a 12-month high of $22.04. 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 issued its 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 firm had revenue of $121.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.09 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 53.28% and a return on equity of 17.19%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hercules Capital will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.38%.

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Hercules Capital by 177.2% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Estabrook Capital Management raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hercules Capital by 345.4% in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on HTGC. Compass Point raised their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.25 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Hercules Capital in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hercules Capital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $19.50 to $21.50 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

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.