Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on GAIN. Zacks Research cut shares of Gladstone Investment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. upgraded shares of Gladstone Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Gladstone Investment from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.83.

Gladstone Investment Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GAIN traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.88. 126,554 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,075. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.37. Gladstone Investment has a 52 week low of $13.11 and a 52 week high of $17.14. The company has a market cap of $592.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.72.

Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The investment management company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $24.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.92 million. Gladstone Investment had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 149.34%. On average, analysts predict that Gladstone Investment will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gladstone Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 21st will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 21st. Gladstone Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gladstone Investment

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Gladstone Investment by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 804,098 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,431,000 after acquiring an additional 212,170 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Gladstone Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,764,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gladstone Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at $572,000. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Gladstone Investment during the first quarter worth $355,000. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart LLC bought a new position in Gladstone Investment during the first quarter worth $254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.85% of the company’s stock.

Gladstone Investment Company Profile

Gladstone Investment Corporation is a publicly traded business development company that provides debt and equity capital to established lower middle-market businesses in the United States. The company invests in connection with management buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations and growth initiatives. Its investments may include secured loans and ownership stakes, allowing Gladstone Investment to support portfolio companies with both financing and equity capital. The company typically seeks businesses with established operations and opportunities for continued development.