John Barry Acquires 433,000 Shares of Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Stock

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) CEO John Barry purchased 433,000 shares of Prospect Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.32 per share, for a total transaction of $1,004,560.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 87,122,376 shares in the company, valued at $202,123,912.32. This trade represents a 0.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Prospect Capital Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:PSEC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.37. 3,995,800 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,939,104. Prospect Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $2.11 and a 12-month high of $3.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $2.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.41 and a beta of 0.82.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.05. Prospect Capital had a positive return on equity of 12.03% and a negative net margin of 10.42%.The firm had revenue of $150.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.23 million.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.7%. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio is -145.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PSEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Prospect Capital from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prospect Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, Prospect Capital presently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $2.00.

Institutional Trading of Prospect Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PSEC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 393,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 89,139 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Prospect Capital by 140.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 88,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 51,562 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Prospect Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Prospect Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Prospect Capital by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 844,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,685,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. 9.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Prospect Capital

Prospect Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business development company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange that specializes in providing private debt and equity financing solutions to middle-market companies across the United States. Structured as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Prospect Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans, subordinated debt and selective equity interests in privately held businesses.

Since its founding in 2004, Prospect Capital has focused on tailoring financing structures to meet the growth, acquisition and recapitalization needs of its portfolio companies.