Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) released its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Prospect Capital had a positive return on equity of 12.03% and a negative net margin of 10.42%.

Prospect Capital Trading Up 1.3%

Prospect Capital stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $2.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,788,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,898,924. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.16 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.48. Prospect Capital has a 12 month low of $2.11 and a 12 month high of $3.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PSEC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Prospect Capital from $2.50 to $2.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Prospect Capital from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Prospect Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $2.00.

Insider Transactions at Prospect Capital

In related news, CEO John F. Barry acquired 1,067,648 shares of Prospect Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.27 per share, with a total value of $2,423,560.96. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 89,213,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $202,515,155.75. This represents a 1.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 2,732,648 shares of company stock worth $6,216,361 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PSEC. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 356.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,231,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,866,312 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the fourth quarter worth $8,352,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Prospect Capital by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,668,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,338,000 after buying an additional 2,761,351 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Prospect Capital by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,661,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,002,000 after buying an additional 2,405,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Prospect Capital by 99.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,096,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,267,000 after buying an additional 2,047,189 shares during the period. 9.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business development company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange that specializes in providing private debt and equity financing solutions to middle-market companies across the United States. Structured as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Prospect Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans, subordinated debt and selective equity interests in privately held businesses.

Since its founding in 2004, Prospect Capital has focused on tailoring financing structures to meet the growth, acquisition and recapitalization needs of its portfolio companies.