SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) from a "hold" to a "sell" rating in a note to investors issued on Saturday.
• Analyst coverage is mixed — one Strong Buy, three Buy, two Hold and two Sell — leaving an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $15.29 after several firms cut targets or assigned underweight ratings.
• SLRC opened at $14.60 with a market cap of $796.5M and a P/E of 8.59; insider Michael S. Gross purchased 25,000 shares at about $13.91, and insiders collectively own 8.8% of the company.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on SLRC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of SLR Investment from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Compass Point upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $16.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 target price on shares of SLR Investment and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLR Investment presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.29.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

Shares of SLRC stock opened at $14.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $796.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.69. SLR Investment has a 1-year low of $13.64 and a 1-year high of $17.19. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $14.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.09.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 42.34%.The firm had revenue of $54.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.97 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SLR Investment will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.91 per share, for a total transaction of $347,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 4,014,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,844,490.91. This represents a 0.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLRC. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 173.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 16,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 10,591 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in SLR Investment in the second quarter worth $210,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in SLR Investment during the second quarter worth $190,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in SLR Investment by 18.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 42,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 6,464 shares during the last quarter. 35.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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