SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is bearish: SLR Investment Corp. has an average analyst rating of “Reduce”, with three sell ratings, two holds, and two buys. The average 12-month price target is $14.10.
• Recent earnings missed expectations: The company reported $0.33 EPS versus the $0.40 consensus estimate, and revenue of $47.14 million also came in below expectations. Analysts currently expect full-year EPS of 1.33.
• The dividend remains high but was cut: SLR Investment recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 9.6%. The payout ratio is 75.61%, and the company has also recently lowered its dividend.

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.10.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on SLR Investment from $13.50 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on SLR Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of SLR Investment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SLR Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.09 per share, with a total value of $130,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 4,035,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,820,152.77. This trade represents a 0.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 8.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 1,389.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 35.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SLR Investment Price Performance

SLR Investment stock opened at $12.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $702.73 million, a PE ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.64. SLR Investment has a 52-week low of $12.13 and a 52-week high of $16.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $12.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.14.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 41.81%.The company had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.01 million. On average, research analysts expect that SLR Investment will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. SLR Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.61%.

SLR Investment Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.