Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday. The company traded as low as $1.66 and last traded at $1.6850, with a volume of 649,525 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prospect Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prospect Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $2.00.

Prospect Capital Stock Down 3.5%

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $891.48 million, a PE ratio of 33.40 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.31.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $155.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.80 million. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 12.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prospect Capital Corporation will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.0350 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 25.1%. Prospect Capital’s payout ratio is 840.00%.

Insider Transactions at Prospect Capital

In other news, CEO John Barry. III acquired 1,217,105 shares of Prospect Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.24 per share, with a total value of $2,726,315.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,479,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,675,173.12. This trade represents a 1.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 25.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $152,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Private Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 51.7% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 20,534,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,435,000 after acquiring an additional 6,999,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 32.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,685,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,388,990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.06% of the company’s stock.

About Prospect Capital

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to privately held, middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in first-lien and second-lien loans, subordinated debt, and other debt and equity securities. Its investments are designed to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancings, and other corporate purposes.

Through its investment platform, Prospect Capital also participates in specialized finance and structured investment activities, including investments in real estate-related assets and other operating businesses.