Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $2.11 and last traded at $2.1350, with a volume of 4996102 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $2.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PSEC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prospect Capital from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Prospect Capital from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Prospect Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Prospect Capital currently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $2.00.

Prospect Capital Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.55.

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

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th will be issued a $0.035 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 19.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 27th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently -113.51%.

Insider Transactions at Prospect Capital

In other Prospect Capital news, CEO John F. Barry bought 1,067,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2.27 per share, with a total value of $2,423,560.96. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 89,213,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,515,155.75. The trade was a 1.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 2,732,648 shares of company stock valued at $6,216,361 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Prospect Capital by 70.7% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,668,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,338,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761,351 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prospect Capital by 356.3% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,231,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,138,000 after buying an additional 4,866,312 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,661,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,002,000 after buying an additional 2,405,299 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,989,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,924,000 after buying an additional 1,536,808 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,096,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,047,189 shares during the last quarter. 9.06% of the stock is currently 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.