SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 765,743 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 107% from the previous session’s volume of 369,518 shares.The stock last traded at $12.6550 and had previously closed at $12.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SLRC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Compass Point upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $14.10.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $692.26 million, a PE ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.38. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $47.14 million during 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%. Research analysts anticipate that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were given 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 9.8%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.61%.

Insider Activity

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.09 per share, for a total transaction of $130,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,035,153 shares in the company, valued at $52,820,152.77. The trade was a 0.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLRC. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 1,389.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLR Investment in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in SLR Investment in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 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.