Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Horizon Technology Finance Co. (NASDAQ:HRZN) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.38.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HRZN shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Horizon Technology Finance from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. B. Riley cut Horizon Technology Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Horizon Technology Finance from $11.50 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Horizon Technology Finance in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th.

Horizon Technology Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ HRZN opened at $11.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.96 and a beta of 1.21. Horizon Technology Finance has a one year low of $10.75 and a one year high of $13.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.97 and its 200-day moving average is $12.34.

Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The investment management company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $28.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.21 million. Horizon Technology Finance had a positive return on equity of 18.24% and a negative net margin of 15.14%. Research analysts expect that Horizon Technology Finance will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Horizon Technology Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 19th were given a $0.16 dividend. This is an increase from Horizon Technology Finance’s previous dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 18th. This represents a yield of 16.48%. Horizon Technology Finance’s payout ratio is presently -269.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Gerald A. Michaud acquired 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.77 per share, for a total transaction of $42,960.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 156,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,838,991.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Horizon Technology Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HRZN. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Horizon Technology Finance in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Horizon Technology Finance by 25,158.3% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,031 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 3,019 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Horizon Technology Finance by 86.5% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,969 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC bought a new position in shares of Horizon Technology Finance during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 4.94% of the company’s stock.

Horizon Technology Finance Company Profile

Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a business development company specializing in lending and and investing in development-stage investments. It focuses on making secured debt and venture lending investments to venture capital backed companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, cleantech and sustainability industries.