SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.92 and last traded at $17.87, with a volume of 56666 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SLRC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on SLR Investment from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on SLR Investment from $16.50 to $17.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.85.

SLR Investment Stock Down 2.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $941.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.19.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $55.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.08 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 40.89%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 143,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 5,280 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $197,000. Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 145,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 5,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 130.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 20,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

About SLR Investment

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.