SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $12.32 and last traded at $12.35, with a volume of 331304 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on SLRC shares. Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 price target on SLR Investment and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on SLR Investment from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Compass Point upgraded SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.40.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $673.82 million, a PE ratio of 7.53 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.01 and a 200-day moving average of $14.68. 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 (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $47.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.01 million. SLR Investment had a net margin of 41.81% and a return on equity of 8.33%. Equities analysts anticipate that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at SLR Investment

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.09 per share, with a total value of $130,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,035,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,820,152.77. This represents a 0.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 8.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLRC. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $5,411,000. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $4,033,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the third quarter worth about $2,650,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of SLR Investment by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 534,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,261,000 after purchasing an additional 145,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triad Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $1,930,000. 35.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.