SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Hits New 12-Month High at $15.90

Shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.90 and last traded at $15.89, with a volume of 54530 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SLRC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on SLR Investment from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley boosted their target price on SLR Investment from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.25.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $867.42 million, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.24 and its 200-day moving average is $15.08.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 33.31%. The firm had revenue of $59.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.00 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.31%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.14%.

Insider Activity at SLR Investment

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 46,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.44 per share, for a total transaction of $721,048.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,735,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,676,490.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 22,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.74 per share, for a total transaction of $356,290.64. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,804,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,888,496.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 46,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.44 per share, for a total transaction of $721,048.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,735,524 shares in the company, valued at $57,676,490.56. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 109,336 shares of company stock valued at $1,680,539 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in SLR Investment in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,821,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,780,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 849,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,774,000 after acquiring an additional 81,394 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the first quarter worth $809,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth $559,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in secured debt (first lien unitranche and second lien), subordinated (unsecured) debt, minority equity, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, general refinancing, growth capital and strategic income-oriented control equity investments in leveraged middle market companies.