Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Prospect Capital to “Hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Sell,” with one Hold rating and two Sell ratings and an average price target of $2.00.
• Prospect Capital shares opened at $1.83, near their one-year low of $1.80, and were trading below both their 50-day ($2.20) and 200-day ($2.34) moving averages.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.15 in EPS versus the $0.11 consensus and revenue of $155.76 million versus $149.80 million; CEO John Barry also purchased about $2.7 million of shares.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PSEC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prospect Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Prospect Capital from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prospect Capital presently has an average rating of "Sell" and an average price target of $2.00.

Prospect Capital Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of Prospect Capital stock opened at $1.83 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $2.20 and its 200 day moving average is $2.34. Prospect Capital has a one year low of $1.80 and a one year high of $3.12. The firm has a market cap of $976.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $155.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.80 million. Prospect Capital had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 19.33%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prospect Capital will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prospect Capital

In other Prospect Capital news, CEO John Barry. III acquired 1,217,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.24 per share, with a total value of $2,726,315.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 90,479,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,675,173.12. This represents a 1.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 25.94% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSEC. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,644,000. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Prospect Capital by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 20,534,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,435,000 after acquiring an additional 6,999,513 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Prospect Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $9,336,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,685,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,388,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concorde Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $838,000. Institutional investors own 9.06% of the company's stock.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to privately held, middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in first-lien and second-lien loans, subordinated debt, and other debt and equity securities. Its investments are designed to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancings, and other corporate purposes.

Through its investment platform, Prospect Capital also participates in specialized finance and structured investment activities, including investments in real estate-related assets and other operating businesses.

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