StockNews.com Upgrades Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Prospect Capital from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 16th.

Prospect Capital Trading Down 0.2 %

Prospect Capital stock opened at $5.52 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.67. Prospect Capital has a 52 week low of $5.03 and a 52 week high of $6.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $202.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.70 million. Prospect Capital had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 25.13%.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 28th. Prospect Capital’s payout ratio is presently 211.76%.

Insider Activity at Prospect Capital

In other Prospect Capital news, CFO Dask Kristin Lea Van purchased 3,330 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.50 per share, for a total transaction of $74,925.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,127.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 26.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prospect Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSEC. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Prospect Capital by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 389,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 18,588 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $85,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 464,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,809,000 after purchasing an additional 100,982 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP lifted its holdings in Prospect Capital by 244.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 235,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 167,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Prospect Capital by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 614,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,718,000 after acquiring an additional 40,375 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 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.