Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.06, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $119.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.53 million. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 69.68% and a positive return on equity of 12.14%.

Prospect Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Prospect Capital stock traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $2.74. 4,162,729 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,274,755. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.04 and a beta of 0.86. Prospect Capital has a twelve month low of $2.52 and a twelve month high of $4.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be issued a $0.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.7%. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently -40.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PSEC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Prospect Capital from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prospect Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $2.50.

Insider Activity at Prospect Capital

In related news, CEO John F. Barry purchased 925,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.72 per share, with a total value of $2,516,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,067,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,102,669.76. This trade represents a 1.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO M Grier Eliasek bought 370,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.71 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,501,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,778,062.30. The trade was a 17.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 2,797,158 shares of company stock valued at $7,485,119. Company insiders own 27.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,661,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,002,000 after acquiring an additional 2,405,299 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Prospect Capital by 0.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 844,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Prospect Capital by 291.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 660,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 491,749 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in shares of Prospect Capital by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 520,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,655,000 after buying an additional 6,516 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 495,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 64,027 shares in the last quarter. 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.