Short Interest in SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Increases By 60.9%

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 343,200 shares, a growth of 60.9% from the February 28th total of 213,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 176,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SLR Investment

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in SLR Investment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $353,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the third quarter worth $90,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of SLR Investment by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of SLR Investment by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 100,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 11,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.32% of the company’s stock.

SLR Investment Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:SLRC traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.15. 217,321 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,870. The stock has a market capitalization of $935.70 million, a PE ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 1.13. SLR Investment has a 12-month low of $14.41 and a 12-month high of $17.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.32.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $55.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.08 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 40.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $16.50 to $17.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on SLR Investment from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.85.

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.