Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Price Target Cut to $1.50 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $2.00 to $1.50 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PSEC. Weiss Ratings cut Prospect Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Prospect Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus price target of $1.50.

Prospect Capital Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:PSEC traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1.41. The stock had a trading volume of 10,263,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,825,715. Prospect Capital has a 1 year low of $1.29 and a 1 year high of $3.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $1.89 and its 200-day moving average is $2.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $151.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.14 million. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 12.15%. Research analysts predict that Prospect Capital will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 27th will be given a $0.0350 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 29.8%. Prospect Capital’s payout ratio is -280.00%.

Insider Transactions at Prospect Capital

In other news, CEO John Barry. III acquired 1,217,105 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.24 per share, with a total value of $2,726,315.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 90,479,988 shares in the company, valued at $202,675,173.12. This trade represents a 1.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 25.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prospect Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. grew 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 worth $45,463,000 after buying an additional 1,322,387 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in 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 valued at $22,374,000 after buying an additional 2,388,990 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,336,000. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,644,000. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 1.6% in the third quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 1,111,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 17,190 shares during the period. 9.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prospect Capital News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Prospect Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prospect authorized up to $200 million in share repurchases, which could support per-share value if the company buys back stock. Management also cited strong credit metrics. Earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings were $0.15 per share, topping the $0.10 consensus estimate. The company also maintained its monthly dividend at $0.035 per share. Quarterly results and repurchase announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The dividend equates to $0.42 annually and a reported yield of about 30%. That high yield may appeal to income investors, but it also warrants attention to the company’s ability to sustain distributions.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target from $2.00 to $1.50 and assigned an Underweight rating, signaling a bearish view despite the target remaining slightly above the cited share price. Wells Fargo rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $151.74 million fell short of the $163.14 million consensus. Net investment income also declined year over year, to $76.4 million from $79.4 million, and per-share NII slipped to $0.15 from $0.17—potential concerns for earnings momentum and dividend coverage.

About Prospect Capital

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.