StockNews.com Upgrades Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Prospect Capital from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 16th.

Prospect Capital Stock Performance

Shares of PSEC opened at $5.53 on Thursday. Prospect Capital has a 12 month low of $5.03 and a 12 month high of $6.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.01.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. Prospect Capital had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 25.13%. The firm had revenue of $202.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.70 million.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 211.76%.

Insider Activity at Prospect Capital

In related news, CFO Dask Kristin Lea Van purchased 3,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.50 per share, with a total value of $74,925.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,127.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 26.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Prospect Capital by 2,266.9% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 7,254 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. Edge Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 62.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 3,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. 9.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.