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

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages 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 issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.10.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Zacks Research cut SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on SLR Investment from $13.50 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on SLR Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Friday, June 12th.

SLR Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLRC opened at $12.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $674.30 million, a P/E ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.39. SLR Investment has a 12-month low of $12.13 and a 12-month high of $16.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that SLR Investment will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is currently 75.61%.

Insider Activity at SLR Investment

In related news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.09 per share, with a total value of $130,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,035,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,820,152.77. This represents a 0.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

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

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.