Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) CEO Purchases 2,604,262 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• CEO John Barry bought 2,604,262 shares at an average of $1.51 each, spending about $3.93 million and increasing his stake by 2.84% to roughly 94.4 million shares.
• Prospect Capital reported quarterly EPS of $0.15, beating the $0.10 consensus, but revenue of $151.74 million fell short of analysts’ $163.14 million estimate.
• The company announced a monthly dividend of $0.035 per share, equivalent to a 29.9% annualized yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was Sell, with a $1.50 target price.

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) CEO John Barry bought 2,604,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.51 per share, for a total transaction of $3,932,435.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 94,398,039 shares in the company, valued at $142,541,038.89. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Prospect Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ PSEC opened at $1.41 on Friday. Prospect Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $1.29 and a twelve month high of $3.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.57 million, a PE ratio of -9.37 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.31.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $151.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.14 million. Prospect Capital had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 3.80%. Research analysts anticipate that Prospect Capital Corporation will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 27th will be paid a $0.0350 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 29.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 27th. Prospect Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -280.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Prospect Capital from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prospect Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prospect Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Prospect Capital from $2.00 to $1.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Sell" and a consensus target price of $1.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 6.4% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 21,857,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,387 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Prospect Capital by 32.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,685,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,374,000 after buying an additional 2,388,990 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Prospect Capital during the second quarter worth about $9,336,000. Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 1st quarter worth about $8,644,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.06% of the company's stock.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market businesses. Its investments include senior and subordinated debt, structured finance, and equity securities. The company works with businesses seeking capital for purposes such as growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancing. Its portfolio spans a range of industries, with investments primarily in companies in the United States. Founded in 2004, Prospect Capital is externally managed by Prospect Capital Management L.P. and is headquartered in New York City.

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