Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $2.74 and traded as high as $2.84. Prospect Capital shares last traded at $2.79, with a volume of 3,061,742 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PSEC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, Prospect Capital has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $2.50.

Prospect Capital Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.75 and its 200-day moving average is $2.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of -3.44 and a beta of 0.90.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $176.00 million for 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%.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 19.4%. Prospect Capital’s payout ratio is -66.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO M Grier Eliasek purchased 942,800 shares of Prospect Capital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.92 per share, for a total transaction of $2,752,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,443,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,056,275.60. This represents a 37.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 27.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Prospect Capital by 356.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,231,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,866,312 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,424,000. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $8,352,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake 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 valued at $18,002,000 after buying an additional 2,405,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in 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 worth $11,267,000 after buying an additional 2,047,189 shares during the period. 9.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.