Hercules Capital (HTGC) Rises Yet Lags Behind Market: Some Facts Worth Knowing
In the latest market close, Hercules Capital 
HTGC reached $19.07, with a +0.63% movement compared to the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.02% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.03%.
Shares of the specialty finance company witnessed a gain of 2.71% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Finance sector with its loss of 5.37% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.15%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Hercules Capital in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on May 2, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.48, reflecting a 2.13% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $119.59 million, showing a 13.79% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $2.05 per share and revenue of $497.11 million, indicating changes of -1.44% and +7.91%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Hercules Capital. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Hercules Capital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Digging into valuation, Hercules Capital currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.25. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 7.89, which means Hercules Capital is trading at a premium to the group.
The Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 143, which puts it in the bottom 44% of all 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.
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