SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.92 and last traded at $17.87, with a volume of 56666 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.50.

SLR Investment Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $964.62 million, a P/E ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.17.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $55.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.08 million. SLR Investment had a net margin of 40.89% and a return on equity of 9.73%. As a group, analysts expect that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.28%. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is currently 93.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLR Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLRC. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in SLR Investment by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 105,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 4,990 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in SLR Investment by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 382,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,174,000 after purchasing an additional 36,100 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SLR Investment by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,372,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,660,000 after purchasing an additional 33,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in SLR Investment by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 22,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

About SLR Investment

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.