SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 302,059 shares, a decline of 40.4% from the December 15th total of 506,966 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 273,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 273,533 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLRC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SLR Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on SLR Investment from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SLR Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.04.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

Shares of SLRC traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 203,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,636. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. SLR Investment has a 52 week low of $13.64 and a 52 week high of $17.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.72.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $56.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.33 million. SLR Investment had a net margin of 41.00% and a return on equity of 8.98%. On average, equities research analysts expect that SLR Investment will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLR Investment

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLRC. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of SLR Investment by 2.2% in the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 29,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 4.4% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 4.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SLR Investment by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 19,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in SLR Investment by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 36,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.