Short Interest in SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Drops By 35.9%

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 142,000 shares, a drop of 35.9% from the September 15th total of 221,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 142,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of SLR Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLR Investment in the second quarter worth about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the third quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $195,000. 35.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLR Investment Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:SLRC traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $15.08. The company had a trading volume of 188,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,241. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.63. 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 1 year low of $13.93 and a 1 year high of $16.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 1.13.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 42.99%. The business had revenue of $58.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is 88.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SLRC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $15.50 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on SLR Investment in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.25.

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.