SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.40.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of SLR Investment from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Compass Point upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

NASDAQ SLRC opened at $12.42 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $677.64 million, a PE ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.50. SLR Investment has a 52 week low of $12.13 and a 52 week high of $16.83.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.01 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 41.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.0%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.61%.

Insider Transactions at SLR Investment

In related news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.09 per share, for a total transaction of $130,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 4,035,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,820,152.77. This trade represents a 0.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,033,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 577,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,932,000 after acquiring an additional 77,705 shares during the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 534,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 145,323 shares during the last quarter. Triad Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $1,930,000. Finally, Altrafin AG purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $786,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Company Profile

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SLRC) is a closed‐end, externally managed business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to middle‐market companies. The firm seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien financings, mezzanine debt and equity co‐investments. Its flexible capital approach allows it to structure financing across the capital structure to address a range of sponsor‐backed transactions.

SLR Investment Corp.