SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 97,926 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the previous session’s volume of 190,353 shares.The stock last traded at $15.34 and had previously closed at $15.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SLRC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on SLR Investment from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley increased their price target on SLR Investment from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SLR Investment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.25.

SLR Investment Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $840.22 million, a PE ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.06.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. SLR Investment had a net margin of 33.31% and a return on equity of 9.36%. The business had revenue of $59.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.00 million. Equities analysts anticipate that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLR Investment

In related news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 46,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.44 per share, with a total value of $721,048.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,735,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,676,490.56. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 46,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.44 per share, with a total value of $721,048.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,735,524 shares in the company, valued at $57,676,490.56. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.08 per share, with a total value of $603,200.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,642,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,923,229.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 109,336 shares of company stock valued at $1,680,539 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in SLR Investment by 1.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,306,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,686,000 after purchasing an additional 25,304 shares during the last quarter. Ares Management LLC lifted its stake in SLR Investment by 19.3% in the first quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 1,895,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,362,000 after purchasing an additional 306,084 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC lifted its stake in SLR Investment by 2.6% in the second quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 1,638,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,388,000 after purchasing an additional 42,267 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in SLR Investment by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 849,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,774,000 after purchasing an additional 81,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in SLR Investment by 1.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 689,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,605,000 after purchasing an additional 12,119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Company Profile

SLR Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in secured debt (first lien unitranche and second lien), subordinated (unsecured) debt, minority equity, leveraged buyouts, acquisitions, recapitalizations, general refinancing, growth capital and strategic income-oriented control equity investments in leveraged middle market companies.