SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.50.

Several research analysts recently commented on SLRC shares. B. Riley reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (up previously from $16.00) on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Friday, May 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on SLR Investment from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

SLR Investment Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SLR Investment stock opened at $16.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $883.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $15.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. SLR Investment has a twelve month low of $13.75 and a twelve month high of $16.28.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $59.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.00 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 41.66%. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLR Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 22,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.74 per share, with a total value of $356,290.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,804,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,888,496.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $603,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,642,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,923,229.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael S. Gross bought 22,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.74 per share, with a total value of $356,290.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,804,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,888,496.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 109,336 shares of company stock valued at $1,680,539. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in SLR Investment during the first quarter valued at $74,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the third quarter worth about $143,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the third quarter worth about $193,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $191,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $195,000. 35.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in secured debt (first lien unitranche and second lien), subordinated (unsecured) debt, minority equity, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, general refinancing, growth capital and strategic income-oriented control equity investments in leveraged middle market companies.