SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07), Zacks reports. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 42.34%.The business had revenue of $47.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.01 million.

SLR Investment Price Performance

SLRC traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.98. 1,933,609 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 339,727. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.14. SLR Investment has a 52-week low of $13.61 and a 52-week high of $17.19. The company has a market capitalization of $762.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 96.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael S. Gross bought 10,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.90 per share, for a total transaction of $145,282.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,025,153 shares in the company, valued at $55,949,626.70. This trade represents a 0.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the third quarter worth about $143,000. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $179,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 price target on shares of SLR Investment and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLR Investment currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.29.

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.