Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Sets New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $3.30 and last traded at $3.32, with a volume of 585898 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PSEC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prospect Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Prospect Capital from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Prospect Capital Trading Down 3.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $3.69 and its 200-day moving average is $4.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -16.48 and a beta of 0.93.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.05. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The firm had revenue of $170.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.29 million.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a yield of 15.88%. Prospect Capital's payout ratio is -62.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prospect Capital

In other news, Director William Gremp acquired 19,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $4.29 per share, with a total value of $81,939.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 75,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $322,406.37. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John F. Barry acquired 240,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.20 per share, with a total value of $1,008,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,981,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,324,118.60. This represents a 0.29% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 2,548,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,970,715. Corporate insiders own 28.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Prospect Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PSEC. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 199.8% during the fourth quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 47,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 107.6% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 20,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 10,762 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 92,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 66,911 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $1,086,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 131.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 49,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 27,935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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