SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) Short Interest Update

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ:SLRC) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 302,059 shares, a decline of 40.4% from the December 15th total of 506,966 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 273,533 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 273,533 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SLRC. Triad Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment in the fourth quarter worth $1,930,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SLR Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $454,000. Epiq Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 417,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,449,000 after acquiring an additional 24,338 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of SLR Investment by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,342,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,526,000 after acquiring an additional 11,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of SLR Investment by 10.9% during the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 42,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares in the last quarter. 35.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SLR Investment Stock Performance

Shares of SLRC opened at $15.35 on Friday. SLR Investment has a 52-week low of $13.64 and a 52-week high of $17.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $837.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.70.

SLR Investment (NASDAQ:SLRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). SLR Investment had a net margin of 41.00% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The company had revenue of $56.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.33 million. Research analysts forecast that SLR Investment will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SLR Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.7%. SLR Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SLRC shares. Wall Street Zen raised SLR Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on SLR Investment from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of SLR Investment from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SLR Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.04.

About SLR Investment

SLR Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SLRC) is a closed‐end, externally managed business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to middle‐market companies. The firm seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien financings, mezzanine debt and equity co‐investments. Its flexible capital approach allows it to structure financing across the capital structure to address a range of sponsor‐backed transactions.

SLR Investment Corp.