SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $13.50 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research raised SLR Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered SLR Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SLR Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.10.

SLR Investment Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of SLR Investment stock opened at $11.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.34. The company has a market cap of $640.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. SLR Investment has a 1 year low of $11.58 and a 1 year high of $16.36.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33. SLR Investment had a net margin of 35.20% and a return on equity of 7.96%. The business had revenue of $20.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.82 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLR Investment will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is 91.85%.

Insider Activity

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael Gross acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.35 per share, for a total transaction of $247,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 4,065,153 shares in the company, valued at $50,204,639.55. This represents a 0.49% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLRC. Triad Investment Management raised its position in SLR Investment by 0.8% in the first quarter. Triad Investment Management now owns 125,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 3.7% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 2.9% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 48,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 378,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 98,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SLRC) is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies, primarily in the United States. The company invests mainly in senior secured loans and other debt instruments, with a focus on businesses that may require flexible capital solutions to support acquisitions, growth, recapitalizations, refinancing, and other corporate initiatives.

SLR Investment may also make subordinated debt and equity investments, including investments alongside its lending activities.