Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $2.50.

Prospect Capital Trading Up 5.5%

NASDAQ PSEC opened at $3.05 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.70 and its 200-day moving average is $2.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 0.90. Prospect Capital has a one year low of $2.45 and a one year high of $4.47.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $176.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.34 million. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 39.56% and a positive return on equity of 11.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prospect Capital news, COO M Grier Eliasek acquired 942,800 shares of Prospect Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.92 per share, for a total transaction of $2,752,976.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 3,443,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,056,275.60. This represents a 37.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 27.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 38.5% in the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 11,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Prospect Capital by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Prospect Capital by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 27,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 1.3% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 351,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 4,613 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 262,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 4,978 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.