Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) COO M Grier Eliasek Acquires 942,800 Shares

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) COO M Grier Eliasek purchased 942,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $2.92 per share, with a total value of $2,752,976.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer owned 3,443,930 shares in the company, valued at $10,056,275.60. The trade was a 37.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Prospect Capital Stock Down 0.3%

Prospect Capital stock opened at $2.89 on Friday. Prospect Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $2.45 and a fifty-two week high of $4.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.57 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.75.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.09. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 39.56% and a positive return on equity of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $176.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.34 million.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a $0.045 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. Prospect Capital’s payout ratio is presently -66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Prospect Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Prospect Capital currently has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $2.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 29.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 393,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 89,139 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Prospect Capital by 140.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 88,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 51,562 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Prospect Capital by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 53,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 7,873 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Prospect Capital by 2,609.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 20,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 19,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 2,528.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 17,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.06% of the company’s stock.

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.