Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Holdings in Prospect Capital Corporation $PSEC

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Prospect Capital by 9.2% in Q3, buying 866,860 shares to own 10,255,640 shares (~2.18% of the company) worth about $28.2 million.
• COO M Grier Eliasek purchased 942,800 shares at $2.92, boosting their position to 3,443,930 shares (a 37.7% increase), and insiders now own 27.98% of the stock.
• Despite a quarterly earnings beat and a declared monthly dividend of $0.045 (annualized yield roughly 20.3%), analysts maintain a consensus Sell rating with an average target of $2.50 while PSEC trades near $2.66.

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,255,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 866,860 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 2.18% of Prospect Capital worth $28,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 73.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,661,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,002,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405,299 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Prospect Capital in the second quarter worth $12,424,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Prospect Capital by 7.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,048,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,679,000 after buying an additional 203,120 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 2.0% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,546,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,253,000 after buying an additional 29,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 0.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 844,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,685,000 after buying an additional 3,880 shares during the last quarter. 9.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PSEC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Prospect Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Sell" and an average target price of $2.50.

Insider Transactions at Prospect Capital

In other news, COO M Grier Eliasek acquired 942,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.92 per share, with a total value of $2,752,976.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,443,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,056,275.60. The trade was a 37.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 27.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prospect Capital Trading Down 0.4%

PSEC opened at $2.66 on Thursday. Prospect Capital Corporation has a one year low of $2.45 and a one year high of $4.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.28 and a beta of 0.87.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $176.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.34 million. Prospect Capital had a positive return on equity of 11.91% and a negative net margin of 39.56%.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 20.3%. Prospect Capital's payout ratio is currently -66.67%.

Prospect Capital Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business development company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange that specializes in providing private debt and equity financing solutions to middle-market companies across the United States. Structured as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Prospect Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans, subordinated debt and selective equity interests in privately held businesses.

Since its founding in 2004, Prospect Capital has focused on tailoring financing structures to meet the growth, acquisition and recapitalization needs of its portfolio companies.

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