SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $12.53 and last traded at $12.6340, with a volume of 63640 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $12.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLRC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of SLR Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of SLR Investment from $16.50 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Compass Point raised shares of SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of SLR Investment from $14.00 to $13.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 price objective on shares of SLR Investment and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.40.

SLR Investment Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $696.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $47.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.01 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 8.33% and a net margin of 41.81%. On average, equities research analysts predict that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLR Investment

In related news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 10,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.90 per share, for a total transaction of $145,282.80. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,025,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,949,626.70. The trade was a 0.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 8.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 15.1% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 131,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after buying an additional 17,210 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 10.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 225,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,234,000 after buying an additional 20,469 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in SLR Investment in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 27.8% in the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 53,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in SLR Investment by 1.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 98,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 1,693 shares during the period. 35.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SLRC) is a closed‐end, externally managed business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to middle‐market companies. The firm seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien financings, mezzanine debt and equity co‐investments. Its flexible capital approach allows it to structure financing across the capital structure to address a range of sponsor‐backed transactions.

SLR Investment Corp.