SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $15.97, but opened at $14.11. SLR Investment shares last traded at $13.7640, with a volume of 358,592 shares changing hands.

The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $47.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.01 million. SLR Investment had a net margin of 42.34% and a return on equity of 8.76%.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLRC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 target price on shares of SLR Investment and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 10,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.90 per share, for a total transaction of $145,282.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,025,153 shares in the company, valued at $55,949,626.70. The trade was a 0.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLR Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Triad Investment Management acquired a new stake in SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $1,930,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. raised its stake in SLR Investment by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 534,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 145,323 shares during the period. Epiq Partners LLC raised its stake in SLR Investment by 11.6% during the third quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 392,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,006,000 after acquiring an additional 40,830 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in SLR Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $632,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in SLR Investment by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 330,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,046,000 after purchasing an additional 121,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Trading Down 12.9%

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 market cap of $758.71 million, a P/E ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.14.

SLR Investment Company Profile

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.