Short Interest in SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Grows By 41.0%

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity at SLR Investment

In other news, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum acquired 10,000 shares of SLR Investment stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.73 per share, for a total transaction of $87,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 1,270,763 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,760.99. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, President Robyn Tannenbaum purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.05 per share, with a total value of $33,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president now directly owns 24,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $275,796.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum acquired 10,000 shares of SLR Investment stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.73 per share, with a total value of $87,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 1,270,763 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,760.99. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 70,584 shares of company stock valued at $855,625 in the last three months. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SLR Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLRC. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SLR Investment during the second quarter worth about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of SLR Investment during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $191,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in SLR Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $195,000. 35.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLR Investment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLRC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.39. The company had a trading volume of 170,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,473. The firm has a market capitalization of $839.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 1.13. SLR Investment has a twelve month low of $13.93 and a twelve month high of $16.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $58.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.23 million. SLR Investment had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 42.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that SLR Investment will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SLRC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut SLR Investment from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $15.50 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of SLR Investment from $15.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of SLR Investment from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.25.

About SLR Investment

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.