10 Best Dividend-Paying Stocks Under $50

6. Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC)

Upside Potential as of August 16: 13.15%

Share Price as of the close of August 16: $18.40

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) is a California-based specialty finance company that mainly offers senior secured loans to high-growth, venture capital-backed, and institutional-backed companies in a wide range of industries. Since its inception in December 2003, the company has committed over $20 billion to more than 660 companies, establishing itself as the preferred lender for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms looking for growth capital financing.

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) benefits a lot from its business model and the sectors it operates in. The company focuses on life sciences, technology, software, and renewable energy—industries with strong long-term growth prospects. This specialized approach allows the company to better assess a business’s potential for growth and its ability to repay loans. Additionally, most of the company’s loans have floating interest rates, which adjust with market rates. While this can increase costs for borrowers, it also shields its earnings from the impact of interest rate fluctuations, helping to stabilize its bottom line amid recent volatility.

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) company maintained its strong momentum into the second quarter of 2024, with its investment team achieving record gross funding of $1.07 billion in the first half of the year, marking a nearly 28% increase compared to the previous year. Supported by significant growth in its debt portfolio, the company reported record total investment income of $246.6 million and record net investment income of $161.5 million for the first half of 2024, reflecting year-over-year increases of over 11% and 14%, respectively.

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) is a solid dividend payer with a strong history of paying supplemental dividends to shareholders. On July 30, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share and a supplemental dividend of $0.08 per share. In addition, the company has been growing its payouts for five consecutive years, which makes HTGC one of the best dividend stocks on our list. As of August 16, the stock supports a dividend yield of 13.04%.

Insider Monkey’s database of Q2 2024 indicated that 11 hedge funds held stakes in Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC), down from 13 in the preceding quarter. The overall value of these stakes is more than $53.6 million. Marshall Wace LLP owned the largest stake in the company in Q2.