Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) CEO John Barry Buys 2,604,262 Shares of Stock

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) CEO John Barry bought 2,604,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.51 per share, with a total value of $3,932,435.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 94,398,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,541,038.89. The trade was a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Prospect Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:PSEC traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.46. 6,242,784 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,818,376. The company has a market capitalization of $813.21 million, a P/E ratio of -9.73 and a beta of 0.84. Prospect Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $1.29 and a 12 month high of $3.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.30.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $151.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.14 million. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 13.28%. Sell-side analysts expect that Prospect Capital Corporation will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.0350 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 28.8%. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -280.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSEC. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Prospect Capital by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 21,857,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,387 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 32.7% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,685,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,374,000 after buying an additional 2,388,990 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital in the second quarter worth $9,336,000. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the first quarter valued at $8,644,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the third quarter valued at $4,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Prospect Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Prospect Capital from $2.00 to $1.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Prospect Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prospect Capital currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $1.50.

About Prospect Capital

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market businesses. Its investments include senior and subordinated debt, structured finance, and equity securities. The company works with businesses seeking capital for purposes such as growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancing. Its portfolio spans a range of industries, with investments primarily in companies in the United States. Founded in 2004, Prospect Capital is externally managed by Prospect Capital Management L.P. and is headquartered in New York City.