SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Short Interest Update

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 214,000 shares, an increase of 41.0% from the August 15th total of 151,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 134,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLRC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $15.50 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.25.

Insider Transactions at SLR Investment

In other news, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.73 per share, for a total transaction of $87,300.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,270,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,093,760.99. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, President Robyn Tannenbaum acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.05 per share, for a total transaction of $33,150.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 24,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $275,796.95. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.73 per share, for a total transaction of $87,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,270,763 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,760.99. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 70,584 shares of company stock worth $855,625. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in SLR Investment by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 89,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its stake in SLR Investment by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 23,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 9,530 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in SLR Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in SLR Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. raised its stake in SLR Investment by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 88,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,875 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SLRC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.39. 170,373 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 113,353. The stock has a market cap of $839.68 million, a P/E ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. SLR Investment has a twelve month low of $13.93 and a twelve month high of $16.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.66.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $58.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.23 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 42.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.13%.

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.