Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $1.41 and last traded at $1.4150, with a volume of 12,736,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PSEC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Prospect Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Prospect Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Prospect Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $2.00.

Prospect Capital Trading Down 7.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $768.70 million, a PE ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.04. The company 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 anticipate that Prospect Capital Corporation will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 29.2%. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 840.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Prospect Capital news, CEO John Barry. III bought 1,217,105 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,726,315.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 25.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Prospect Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Prospect Capital by 55.5% in the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 16,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 6,056 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. 9.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) is a business development company that provides financing and investment capital to middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in privately held businesses through first-lien and second-lien loans, mezzanine debt, and other debt securities, while also making equity and equity-related investments in selected companies.

Prospect Capital invests across a range of industries and has additional exposure to areas such as real estate, structured credit, and financial services.