SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Share Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• SLR Investment shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $12.48 and last at $12.19, versus a 50-day average of $11.83.
• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $14.10; the stock has two Buy, four Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• Quarterly earnings of $0.33 per share matched estimates, while revenue of $49.34 million topped forecasts. The company announced a $0.31 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 10.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 91.85%.

Shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $11.83 and traded as high as $12.48. SLR Investment shares last traded at $12.19, with a volume of 826,480 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLRC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley Financial lowered SLR Investment from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research raised SLR Investment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.10.

SLR Investment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.37. The company has a market cap of $665.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.69.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 28.75%. The business had revenue of $49.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.93 million. As a group, research analysts predict that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.2%. SLR Investment's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael Gross bought 20,000 shares of SLR Investment stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.35 per share, with a total value of $247,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,065,153 shares in the company, valued at $50,204,639.55. The trade was a 0.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 1.6% during the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,708,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,248,000 after buying an additional 75,341 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in SLR Investment by 7,441.0% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,629,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,735,000 after buying an additional 1,607,550 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in SLR Investment by 24.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,104,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,658,000 after buying an additional 219,110 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in SLR Investment in the second quarter valued at about $5,516,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLR Investment by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 378,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the period. 35.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLR Investment Company Profile

SLR Investment Corp. NASDAQ: SLRC is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies, primarily in the United States. The company seeks to support businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing by investing in a range of debt and equity securities.

Its investment activities generally focus on senior secured loans, subordinated debt, mezzanine investments and equity interests. SLR Investment typically partners with private equity sponsors and company management teams, providing capital for acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancing, growth initiatives and other corporate purposes.

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