SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 176,597 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the previous session’s volume of 158,287 shares.The stock last traded at $16.40 and had previously closed at $16.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on 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 cut their target price for the company from $15.50 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.25.

SLR Investment Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.69. The firm has a market cap of $894.24 million, a P/E ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.12.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $59.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.48 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 40.89%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.66%.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLRC. Condor Capital Management acquired a new stake in SLR Investment during the second quarter valued at $4,118,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,639,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in SLR Investment by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 999,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,369,000 after purchasing an additional 63,321 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 109.4% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 113,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 59,492 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in SLR Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at $786,000. 35.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.