SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Stock Rating Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on SLRC. Zacks Research raised shares of SLR Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered SLR Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. B. Riley Financial lowered SLR Investment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on SLR Investment from $13.50 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLR Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.10.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

SLR Investment stock opened at $11.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $620.89 million, a PE ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.69. SLR Investment has a 1-year low of $11.23 and a 1-year high of $16.36.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. SLR Investment had a net margin of 35.20% and a return on equity of 7.96%. The business had revenue of $20.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.82 million. As a group, analysts expect that SLR Investment will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Gross bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.35 per share, for a total transaction of $247,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,065,153 shares in the company, valued at $50,204,639.55. This trade represents a 0.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the 1st quarter worth $69,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in SLR Investment by 211.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in SLR Investment in the second quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. purchased a new position in SLR Investment in the first quarter worth $143,000. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SLRC) is a closed-end business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in privately held businesses through senior secured loans, including first-lien and unitranche loans, and may also make subordinated debt and equity investments.

SLR Investment focuses on companies with established operations across a range of industries. Its investment strategy is designed to provide businesses with capital for acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancings and other general corporate purposes.