SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest rose to 589,790 shares as of April 15, up 21.6% from March 31, representing about 1.2% of shares and a short-interest ratio of 1.9 days.
• Insider Michael S. Gross bought 10,452 shares on March 16 at $13.90 and insiders now hold 8.8% of the company, while institutional investors own about 35.3%.
• SLR pays a quarterly dividend of $0.41 (annualized $1.64) for a yield of 10.5% and a payout ratio of 96.47%.

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 589,790 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the March 31st total of 484,904 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 305,855 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 10,452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.90 per share, for a total transaction of $145,282.80. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,025,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,949,626.70. This trade represents a 0.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc bought a new position in SLR Investment during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,411,000. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in SLR Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,033,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in SLR Investment during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,650,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of SLR Investment by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 534,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 145,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $1,930,000. 35.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLRC opened at $15.64 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $853.32 million, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.69. SLR Investment has a 12-month low of $13.78 and a 12-month high of $17.19.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40. The company had revenue of $54.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.97 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 42.34%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.5%. SLR Investment's payout ratio is presently 96.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SLRC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Compass Point raised shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on SLR Investment from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on SLR Investment from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 price objective on SLR Investment and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.29.

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.

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