SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are mixed on SLR Investment Corp. The stock has an average recommendation of “Hold” from eight brokerages, with a split of sell, hold, buy, and strong buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $15.07.
• Recent earnings missed expectations. SLR Investment reported $0.33 EPS versus the expected $0.40, and revenue of $47.14 million also came in below estimates. Analysts still expect full-year earnings of about $1.40 per share.
• The company offers a high dividend yield, but payout looks stretched. SLR Investment declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 9.2%. Its dividend payout ratio is currently 100%.

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.0714.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SLRC. Wall Street Zen cut SLR Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Compass Point upgraded SLR Investment from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday.

SLR Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLRC opened at $13.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $736.01 million, a PE ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.71. SLR Investment has a fifty-two week low of $13.41 and a fifty-two week high of $17.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.83 and a 200-day moving average of $15.14.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). SLR Investment had a net margin of 41.81% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The company had revenue of $47.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.01 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLR Investment will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. SLR Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.91 per share, with a total value of $347,750.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,014,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,844,490.91. This trade represents a 0.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 30,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 30,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 96,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 19,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. 35.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. NASDAQ: SLRC is a closed‐end, externally managed business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to middle‐market companies. The firm seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien financings, mezzanine debt and equity co‐investments. Its flexible capital approach allows it to structure financing across the capital structure to address a range of sponsor‐backed transactions.

SLR Investment Corp.

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