SLR Investment Corp. $SLRC Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) by 1,413.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 331,260 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in SLR Investment were worth $5,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLRC. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in SLR Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at $326,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the second quarter worth $405,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 11.7% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Condor Capital Management raised its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 2.8% during the second quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 341,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,517,000 after purchasing an additional 9,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in SLR Investment by 6.4% in the second quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 33,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares during the period. 35.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (up from $12.00) on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on SLR Investment from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLR Investment from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrea Colvin Roberts acquired 7,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.73 per share, for a total transaction of $120,288.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,288.70. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SLR Investment Price Performance

NASDAQ SLRC opened at $15.93 on Monday. SLR Investment Corp. has a 1 year low of $13.64 and a 1 year high of $17.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $869.14 million, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $56.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.33 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 39.93%. On average, research analysts forecast that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.3%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 99.39%.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in secured debt (first lien unitranche and second lien), subordinated (unsecured) debt, minority equity, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, general refinancing, growth capital and strategic income-oriented control equity investments in leveraged middle market companies.