Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $2.50.

Prospect Capital Trading Up 5.5%

NASDAQ:PSEC opened at $3.05 on Friday. Prospect Capital has a 52 week low of $2.45 and a 52 week high of $4.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $2.70 and its 200-day moving average is $2.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.09. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 39.56% and a positive return on equity of 11.91%. The business had revenue of $176.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.34 million.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be paid a $0.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.7%. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -66.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO M Grier Eliasek purchased 942,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.92 per share, for a total transaction of $2,752,976.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 3,443,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,056,275.60. The trade was a 37.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 27.98% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 11,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. 9.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business development company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange that specializes in providing private debt and equity financing solutions to middle-market companies across the United States. Structured as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Prospect Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans, subordinated debt and selective equity interests in privately held businesses.

Since its founding in 2004, Prospect Capital has focused on tailoring financing structures to meet the growth, acquisition and recapitalization needs of its portfolio companies.