Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Prospect Capital's share price hit a new 52-week low of $3.04 during trading, finishing the session at $3.06.
• Wells Fargo downgraded Prospect Capital's price target from $3.50 to $3.00 and assigned an "underweight" rating, while Wall Street Zen upgraded it from "sell" to "hold."
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.19 EPS, surpassing expectations, but its revenue of $170.72 million fell short of the anticipated $174.29 million.

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $3.04 and last traded at $3.06, with a volume of 3583307 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $3.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on PSEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Prospect Capital from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prospect Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th.

Prospect Capital Stock Down 2.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $3.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $170.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.29 million. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 36.07% and a positive return on equity of 12.43%.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 29th. This represents a yield of 1,588.0%. Prospect Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -62.79%.

Insider Activity at Prospect Capital

In other Prospect Capital news, CEO John F. Barry purchased 623,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $1,988,327.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 83,266,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,618,622.94. The trade was a 0.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 28.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Prospect Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PSEC. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Prospect Capital in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,680,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 6,177.6% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,478,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,684,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,426 shares in the last quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Prospect Capital by 26.6% during the first quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 2,315,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,494,000 after buying an additional 487,171 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,181,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,845,000 after acquiring an additional 235,139 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 176.1% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 915,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,753,000 after acquiring an additional 583,844 shares in the last quarter. 9.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in middle market, mature, mezzanine finance, later stage, emerging growth, leveraged buyouts, refinancing, acquisitions, recapitalizations, turnaround, growth capital, development, capital expenditures and subordinated debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, cash flow term loans, market place lending and bridge transactions.

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