Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on GAIN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gladstone Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Gladstone Investment from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gladstone Investment presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.75.

Gladstone Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ GAIN opened at $15.32 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $610.04 million, a P/E ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.76. Gladstone Investment has a fifty-two week low of $13.11 and a fifty-two week high of $17.14.

Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The investment management company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $28.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.75 million. Gladstone Investment had a return on equity of 5.90% and a net margin of 158.95%. As a group, analysts forecast that Gladstone Investment will post 1.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gladstone Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Gladstone Investment by 35.8% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 804,098 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $12,431,000 after purchasing an additional 212,170 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gladstone Investment during the 2nd quarter worth about $572,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Gladstone Investment by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,653 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Gladstone Investment in the 1st quarter valued at about $355,000. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart LLC purchased a new position in Gladstone Investment in the 1st quarter valued at about $254,000. 11.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gladstone Investment

Gladstone Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:GAIN) is an externally managed business development company that invests in established lower-middle-market businesses in the United States. The company seeks to provide capital to privately held companies that may have limited access to traditional financing.

Gladstone Investment primarily invests through secured and unsecured debt, subordinated debt and equity securities. Its investment activities support transactions such as management buyouts, recapitalizations, acquisitions and growth initiatives.