Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Sets New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $3.14 and last traded at $3.16, with a volume of 560143 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $3.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PSEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Prospect Capital from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prospect Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th.

Prospect Capital Trading Down 0.3%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.66 and a beta of 0.85.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.05. The firm 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 firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a yield of 16.46%. Prospect Capital's payout ratio is presently -62.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John F. Barry acquired 623,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $1,988,327.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,266,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $265,618,622.94. This trade represents a 0.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 28.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PSEC. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 6,177.6% in 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 buying an additional 2,439,426 shares during the period. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $7,880,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 4,160.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 946,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,080,000 after buying an additional 924,428 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in Prospect Capital by 3,430.6% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 624,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,560,000 after acquiring an additional 606,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in Prospect Capital by 176.1% during 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 during the last quarter. 9.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Prospect Capital

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.