Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,875 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. owned 0.15% of SLR Investment worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SLR Investment in the 3rd quarter worth $143,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 79,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 10,829 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 1,295 shares during the period. GraniteShares Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SLR Investment by 4.0% in the third quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 103,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,598,000 after buying an additional 3,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its position in SLR Investment by 88.4% in the third quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 51,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 24,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Price Performance

SLRC stock opened at $15.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.06. The firm has a market cap of $838.04 million, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. SLR Investment Corp. has a 1 year low of $13.48 and a 1 year high of $15.86.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $59.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.00 million. SLR Investment had a net margin of 33.31% and a return on equity of 9.36%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SLR Investment Corp. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.68%. SLR Investment’s payout ratio is currently 117.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of SLR Investment from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. B. Riley raised their price objective on SLR Investment from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at SLR Investment

In other SLR Investment news, insider Michael S. Gross acquired 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $603,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,642,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,923,229.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 22,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.74 per share, with a total value of $356,290.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,804,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,888,496.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael S. Gross purchased 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.08 per share, for a total transaction of $603,200.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,642,124 shares in the company, valued at $54,923,229.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 109,336 shares of company stock worth $1,680,539. Insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment 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.