UBS Group AG Buys 77,705 Shares of SLR Investment Corp. $SLRC

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in SLR Investment Corp. by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 77,705 more shares and bringing its total holding to 577,728 shares worth about $8.93 million.
• SLR Investment cut its dividend to $0.31 per share quarterly, which implies a 9.4% annualized yield, though the payout ratio is currently 100%.
• Recent earnings and analyst sentiment were mixed to negative: the company missed EPS and revenue estimates in its latest quarter, and the stock carries a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average price target of $14.40.

UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC - Free Report) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 577,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 77,705 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG's holdings in SLR Investment were worth $8,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of SLR Investment by 1,389.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of SLR Investment by 215.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the third quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLR Investment

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 10,000 shares of SLR Investment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.09 per share, with a total value of $130,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 4,035,153 shares in the company, valued at $52,820,152.77. The trade was a 0.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired a total of 45,452 shares of company stock valued at $623,933 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SLRC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Compass Point raised shares of SLR Investment from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 price target on shares of SLR Investment and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of SLR Investment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $14.40.

SLR Investment Price Performance

SLR Investment stock opened at $13.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $721.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average is $14.63 and its 200 day moving average is $15.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. SLR Investment Corp. has a 52-week low of $12.82 and a 52-week high of $17.19.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). SLR Investment had a net margin of 41.81% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The business had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.01 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.4%. SLR Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

SLR Investment Company Profile

SLR Investment Corp. NASDAQ: SLRC is a closed‐end, externally managed business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to middle‐market companies. The firm seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien financings, mezzanine debt and equity co‐investments. Its flexible capital approach allows it to structure financing across the capital structure to address a range of sponsor‐backed transactions.

SLR Investment Corp.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.