Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Prospect Capital (PSEC) crossed above its 200-day moving average of $2.70, trading as high as $2.83 and last at $2.82 on volume of about 3.71 million shares.
• COO M. Grier Eliasek purchased 942,800 shares at an average $2.92 (≈$2.75M), increasing his ownership to 3,443,930 shares — a 37.7% boost in insider holdings.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.045 (ex-dividend April 28), implying an annualized yield of about 19.1%, even as analysts' consensus remains a Sell with an average price target of $2.50.

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $2.70 and traded as high as $2.83. Prospect Capital shares last traded at $2.82, with a volume of 3,708,770 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSEC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prospect Capital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Sell" and an average price target of $2.50.

Prospect Capital Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $2.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $176.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.34 million. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 39.56% and a positive return on equity of 11.91%.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be issued a $0.045 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. Prospect Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prospect Capital

In related news, COO M Grier Eliasek purchased 942,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.92 per share, for a total transaction of $2,752,976.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,443,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,056,275.60. This trade represents a 37.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,255,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,203,000 after acquiring an additional 866,860 shares during the period. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $2,745,000. GatePass Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $563,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 2,604,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,162,000 after acquiring an additional 282,119 shares during the period. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 201.5% in the 3rd quarter. SMH Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 438,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 293,311 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.06% of the company's stock.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business development company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange that specializes in providing private debt and equity financing solutions to middle-market companies across the United States. Structured as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Prospect Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans, subordinated debt and selective equity interests in privately held businesses.

Since its founding in 2004, Prospect Capital has focused on tailoring financing structures to meet the growth, acquisition and recapitalization needs of its portfolio companies.

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