SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Price Target Lowered to $13.50 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $14.00 to $13.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Compass Point upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 target price on shares of SLR Investment and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SLR Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.07.

SLR Investment Price Performance

SLRC opened at $13.66 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.14. SLR Investment has a 12-month low of $13.41 and a 12-month high of $17.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $745.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.71.

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 business had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.01 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 41.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SLR Investment will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.1%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at SLR Investment

In other news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 10,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.90 per share, with a total value of $145,282.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 4,025,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,949,626.70. This trade represents a 0.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SLRC. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $5,411,000. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $4,033,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,650,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of SLR Investment by 37.4% in the 4th quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 534,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after buying an additional 145,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triad Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $1,930,000. 35.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLR Investment News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting SLR Investment this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SLR declared a $0.31 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~8.9%), with record/ex-dividend timing in mid?June — supports income investors and puts a floor under the stock. SLR Investment declares $0.31 dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Management used the Q1 earnings call to outline a path to an earnings rebound — potential upside if execution and credit trends improve. SLR Investment Corp. Outlines Path To Earnings Rebound
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading activity is elevated (~/1.5M shares vs. avg ~360k), and the stock sits below both its 50?day ($14.85) and 200?day ($15.14) moving averages — signaling near?term technical pressure but higher liquidity. (Company market data and volume)
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target to $13.50 and moved to an “underweight” rating — a downgrade that increases near?term selling pressure. JPMorgan price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo lowered its price target to $11.00 and also put an “underweight” rating on the stock — a larger downside signal from a second major shop. Wells Fargo price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: SLR reported a Q1 EPS and revenue miss (EPS $0.33 vs. $0.40 expected; revenue ~$47.1M vs. $54.0M expected) and flagged a cautious credit outlook — the primary fundamental reason for the stock weakness. SLR Investment slides on Q1 miss, cautious credit outlook

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.