Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 74,983 Shares of SLR Investment Corp. $SLRC

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,195,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,983 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 2.19% of SLR Investment worth $18,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in SLR Investment by 1,413.2% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 354,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,725,000 after purchasing an additional 331,260 shares in the last quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its position in SLR Investment by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 389,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,948,000 after buying an additional 121,432 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 330,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,046,000 after buying an additional 121,432 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 61.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 175,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 66,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $782,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Price Performance

NASDAQ:SLRC traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.92. The stock had a trading volume of 83,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,272. SLR Investment Corp. has a twelve month low of $13.64 and a twelve month high of $17.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.35.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 42.34%.The firm had revenue of $54.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.97 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 96.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SLRC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on SLR Investment from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Compass Point upgraded SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $16.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on SLR Investment from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Raymond James Financial set a $16.00 price objective on SLR Investment and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.64.

SLR Investment Profile

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SLRC) is a closed‐end, externally managed business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to middle‐market companies. The firm seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien financings, mezzanine debt and equity co‐investments. Its flexible capital approach allows it to structure financing across the capital structure to address a range of sponsor‐backed transactions.

SLR Investment Corp.