SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.33, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $20.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.82 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 35.20%.

SLR Investment Price Performance

Shares of SLR Investment stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.02. The company had a trading volume of 203,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 385,226. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.98. SLR Investment has a 1-year low of $12.13 and a 1-year high of $16.83. The company has a market capitalization of $710.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.64.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.61%.

Insider Transactions at SLR Investment

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.09 per share, for a total transaction of $130,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLR Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,357,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,990,000 after buying an additional 15,264 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in SLR Investment by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 500,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,645,000 after acquiring an additional 91,622 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of SLR Investment by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 449,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,946,000 after purchasing an additional 33,185 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in SLR Investment by 25.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 380,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,812,000 after acquiring an additional 76,931 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,411,000. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SLRC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $13.50 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research downgraded SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on SLR Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut SLR Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.10.

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.