Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Alliance Global Partners reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Compass Point set a $12.00 price target on shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.10.

Sound Point Meridian Capital Stock Up 1.0%

SPMC stock opened at $11.58 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.13 and a 200 day moving average of $12.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.39 million, a PE ratio of -1.89 and a beta of 1.15. Sound Point Meridian Capital has a 52 week low of $8.36 and a 52 week high of $18.60.

Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $12.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.20 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sound Point Meridian Capital will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Sound Point Meridian Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 20.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Sound Point Meridian Capital’s payout ratio is -39.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sound Point Meridian Capital

In other news, major shareholder Guaranty Ltd Assured bought 242,718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.72 per share, with a total value of $5,999,988.96. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,002,718 shares in the company, valued at $24,787,188.96. This trade represents a 31.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sound Point Meridian Capital

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 29,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,061 shares in the last quarter. Everest Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Everest Management Corp. now owns 75,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares in the last quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 77,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 20,163 shares in the last quarter.

About Sound Point Meridian Capital

Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to generate high current income, with a secondary objective to generate capital appreciation, by investing primarily in third-party collateralized loan obligation equity and mezzanine tranches. Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc is based in NEW YORK.