SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Short Interest Update

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 343,200 shares, a growth of 60.9% from the February 28th total of 213,300 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 176,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $16.50 to $17.25 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on SLR Investment from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.85.

SLR Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLRC traded down $0.30 during trading on Monday, hitting $16.86. The company had a trading volume of 105,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 155,707. SLR Investment has a 52 week low of $14.41 and a 52 week high of $17.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.17 and its 200 day moving average is $16.32. The company has a market cap of $919.61 million, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $55.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.08 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 40.89%. Equities research analysts predict that SLR Investment will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.73%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in SLR Investment by 0.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,336,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,113,000 after buying an additional 4,510 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of SLR Investment by 15.0% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,895,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in SLR Investment by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,044,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,874,000 after purchasing an additional 44,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,902,000. 35.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLR Investment Company Profile

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.