Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Prospect Capital from $5.50 to $5.75 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

Prospect Capital Stock Performance

Shares of PSEC stock opened at $5.24 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of -26.20 and a beta of 1.00. Prospect Capital has a 12 month low of $5.03 and a 12 month high of $6.83.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.02. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 1.47% and a positive return on equity of 13.48%. The business had revenue of $210.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $226.14 million. Equities research analysts expect that Prospect Capital will post 0.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -360.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Dask Kristin Lea Van acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.44 per share, with a total value of $27,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 26.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares during the period. Edge Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the first quarter valued at about $55,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 3,746 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. 9.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in middle market, mature, mezzanine finance, later stage, emerging growth, leveraged buyouts, refinancing, acquisitions, recapitalizations, turnaround, growth capital, development, capital expenditures and subordinated debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, cash flow term loans, market place lending and bridge transactions.