SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Short Interest Up 41.0% in August

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 214,000 shares, an increase of 41.0% from the August 15th total of 151,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 134,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

SLR Investment Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of SLR Investment stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 170,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,473. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.63 and a 200 day moving average of $15.66. SLR Investment has a 1-year low of $13.93 and a 1-year high of $16.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $839.68 million, a PE ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 1.13.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $58.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.23 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 42.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.66%. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is currently 92.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLR Investment

In other news, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum purchased 56,584 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.80 per share, for a total transaction of $724,275.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 184,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,365,478.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other SLR Investment news, President Robyn Tannenbaum purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.05 per share, with a total value of $33,150.00. Following the purchase, the president now owns 24,959 shares in the company, valued at $275,796.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum acquired 56,584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.80 per share, with a total value of $724,275.20. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 184,803 shares in the company, valued at $2,365,478.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 70,584 shares of company stock worth $855,625. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 1.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 935,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,060,000 after purchasing an additional 17,774 shares during the period. Condor Capital Management purchased a new stake in SLR Investment during the 2nd quarter worth $4,118,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in SLR Investment by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 225,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,628,000 after buying an additional 11,637 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in SLR Investment by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 185,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,983,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in SLR Investment by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 137,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,220,000 after buying an additional 1,897 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $15.50 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on SLR Investment in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on SLR Investment from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, SLR Investment presently has an average 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.