Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 1,616 Shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. owned 0.07% of SLR Investment worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SLRC. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in SLR Investment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment in the first quarter worth $74,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $191,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $195,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in SLR Investment by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 17,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. 35.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

SLRC opened at $15.60 on Friday. SLR Investment Corp. has a 12-month low of $13.93 and a 12-month high of $16.77. The company has a market cap of $851.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.65 and its 200 day moving average is $15.65.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. SLR Investment had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $58.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is 92.13%.

Insider Transactions at SLR Investment

In other news, President Robyn Tannenbaum bought 3,000 shares of SLR Investment stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.05 per share, with a total value of $33,150.00. Following the acquisition, the president now owns 24,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $275,796.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other SLR Investment news, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.73 per share, with a total value of $87,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 1,270,763 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,760.99. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Robyn Tannenbaum acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.05 per share, for a total transaction of $33,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 24,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $275,796.95. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 70,584 shares of company stock valued at $855,625 over the last quarter. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of SLR Investment in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $15.50 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SLR Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.25.

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.