SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $13.00 target price (up from $12.00) on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on SLR Investment from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.11.

SLR Investment Price Performance

SLRC opened at $14.07 on Friday. SLR Investment has a 1-year low of $13.64 and a 1-year high of $17.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.00 and a 200-day moving average of $16.06.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). SLR Investment had a net margin of 39.93% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $53.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.38 million. On average, equities analysts expect that SLR Investment will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.23%.

Insider Transactions at SLR Investment

In related news, Director Andrea Colvin Roberts bought 7,190 shares of SLR Investment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.73 per share, for a total transaction of $120,288.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,288.70. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 2.2% during the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 29,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of SLR Investment by 4.4% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 14,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of SLR Investment by 9.4% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 8,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SLR Investment by 5.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management raised its position in SLR Investment by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 38,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

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.