Insider Buying: Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) CEO Purchases 1,217,105 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CEO John Barry bought 1,217,105 Prospect Capital shares at an average price of $2.24, investing approximately $2.73 million and increasing his direct stake by 1.36% to nearly 90.5 million shares.
• Prospect Capital reported quarterly EPS of $0.15, beating analyst estimates of $0.11, while revenue of $155.76 million also exceeded expectations.
• The stock traded near $2.18, and analysts maintained a largely negative outlook with an average “Sell” rating and a consensus price target of $2.00. The company declared a monthly $0.035 dividend, implying a reported yield of about 19.3%.

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) CEO John Barry purchased 1,217,105 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,726,315.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,479,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,675,173.12. This represents a 1.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Prospect Capital Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PSEC traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,559,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,843,772. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 43.60 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $2.11 and a one year high of $3.13.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.04. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $155.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.80 million.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 19.3%. Prospect Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 840.00%.

Institutional Trading of Prospect Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSEC. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Prospect Capital during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in Prospect Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 9.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Prospect Capital from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prospect Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prospect Capital from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Sell" and a consensus target price of $2.00.

Prospect Capital Company 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.

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.