Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Prospect Capital from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

Prospect Capital Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PSEC opened at $5.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.71. Prospect Capital has a twelve month low of $5.03 and a twelve month high of $6.84.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $210.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $226.14 million. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 13.48%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Prospect Capital will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -359.98%.

Insider Transactions at Prospect Capital

In other Prospect Capital news, CFO Dask Kristin Lea Van purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.44 per share, with a total value of $27,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 26.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prospect Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PSEC. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Prospect Capital by 42.8% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 30,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Sunesis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital during the third quarter valued at $135,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Prospect Capital by 17.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 11,679 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital during the third quarter valued at $307,000. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Prospect Capital by 10.2% during the third quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 57,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 5,318 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.06% of the company’s stock.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in middle market, mature, mezzanine finance, later stage, emerging growth, leveraged buyouts, refinancing, acquisitions, recapitalizations, turnaround, growth capital, development, capital expenditures and subordinated debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, cash flow term loans, market place lending and bridge transactions.