SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by B. Riley

B. Riley reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. B. Riley currently has a $17.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous target price of $16.00.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $14.50.

SLR Investment Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SLR Investment stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.21. 221,933 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 183,756. SLR Investment has a 52-week low of $13.48 and a 52-week high of $16.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.26 and a 200-day moving average of $15.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $884.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.10.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $59.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.00 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 33.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. SLR Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.14%.

Insider Activity at SLR Investment

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 22,636 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.74 per share, for a total transaction of $356,290.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,804,860 shares in the company, valued at $59,888,496.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 22,636 shares of SLR Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.74 per share, for a total transaction of $356,290.64. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,804,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,888,496.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.08 per share, with a total value of $603,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,642,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,923,229.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 109,336 shares of company stock worth $1,680,539. Company insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in SLR Investment in the third quarter valued at $143,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in SLR Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $193,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter worth $191,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $195,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.32% of the company's stock.

SLR Investment Company Profile

SLR Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in secured debt (first lien unitranche and second lien), subordinated (unsecured) debt, minority equity, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, general refinancing, growth capital and strategic income-oriented control equity investments in leveraged middle market companies.