Hercules Capital (HTGC) closed at $15.28 in the latest trading session, marking a +2.21% move from the prior day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.02%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.63%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.23%.
Coming into today, shares of the specialty finance company had gained 6.48% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector gained 0.75%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.63%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Hercules Capital in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.48, up 6.67% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $137.05 million, up 14.67% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.97 per share and revenue of $562.82 million. These totals would mark changes of +3.14% and +5.7%, respectively, from last year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Hercules Capital. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Hercules Capital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
From a valuation perspective, Hercules Capital is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.6. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 7.74, so one might conclude that Hercules Capital is trading at a discount comparatively.
The Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry is part of the Finance sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 209, placing it within the bottom 15% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
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Hercules Capital, Inc. (HTGC): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).