Insider Buying: Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC) Director Buys $100,320.00 in Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC – Get Free Report) Director Gayle Crowell purchased 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.20 per share, for a total transaction of $100,320.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 87,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,329,361.60. This represents a 8.16% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hercules Capital Trading Down 7.9%

Shares of HTGC stock opened at $14.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.64 and a 200-day moving average of $18.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.84. Hercules Capital, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.10 and a 52-week high of $21.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. The business had revenue of $133.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.57 million. Hercules Capital had a net margin of 63.80% and a return on equity of 15.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hercules Capital, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hercules Capital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hercules Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HTGC. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Hercules Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Hercules Capital from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hercules Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Hercules Capital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hercules Capital from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hercules Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on HTGC

Institutional Trading of Hercules Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTGC. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Hercules Capital by 173.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Hercules Capital by 79.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hercules Capital during the second quarter worth $27,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hercules Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Hercules Capital in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.69% of the company’s stock.

Hercules Capital News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Hercules Capital this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Multiple insiders (CEO Scott Bluestein, CFO Seth Meyer and several directors) bought stock this week — collectively over ~46,000 shares — signaling management confidence at current levels. See the CEO’s SEC filing for details. CEO SEC Filing
  • Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have modestly lowered fair-value estimates and price targets (examples: consolidated fair value trimmed from ~$21.22 to ~$20.31; several firms trimmed targets and ratings), a recalibration rather than a wholesale downgrade of the thesis. Analyst Note
  • Negative Sentiment: Unusual bearish options flow — investors bought ~28,062 put contracts (a >1,200% jump vs typical daily put volume) — a strong short-term bearish signal that can amplify downward pressure.
  • Negative Sentiment: Hercules cut its quarterly dividend to $0.07 (annualized $0.28), reducing income appeal for yield‑seeking investors and increasing concern about payout sustainability (payout ratio ~87%). See company data and dividend details. MarketBeat HTGC
  • Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades and price‑target cuts (Wells Fargo, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Piper Sandler and others) have pressured sentiment and likely contributed to selling. Analyst Coverage

Hercules Capital Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hercules Capital, Inc is a specialty finance company organized as a business development company (BDC) that provides tailored debt financing solutions to high‐growth companies. Through its external management structure, Hercules Capital extends senior secured loans, subordinated debt and growth capital designed to support research and development, expansion initiatives and working capital needs. The firm primarily partners with venture capital and private equity sponsors to finance innovative enterprises across various developmental stages.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in technology, life sciences and sustainable and renewable technology sectors, reflecting its focus on industries with strong growth prospects and recurring capital requirements.

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