Legal & General Group Plc Grows Position in SLR Investment Corp. $SLRC

Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,194 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in SLR Investment were worth $5,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLRC. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in SLR Investment by 1,389.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in SLR Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in SLR Investment by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 2,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Price Performance

Shares of SLR Investment stock opened at $12.79 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.27 and its 200-day moving average is $14.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $697.82 million, a PE ratio of 7.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. SLR Investment Corp. has a 12-month low of $12.79 and a 12-month high of $17.19.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). SLR Investment had a net margin of 41.81% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The business had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.01 million. Equities analysts anticipate that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.7%. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.91 per share, for a total transaction of $347,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,014,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,844,490.91. This trade represents a 0.63% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders bought a total of 45,452 shares of company stock valued at $623,933 in the last quarter. Insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on SLRC shares. Compass Point raised SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on SLR Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLR Investment from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SLR Investment has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $14.40.

About SLR Investment

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.