Insider Buying: Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Director Acquires $20,100.00 in Stock

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) Director Eugene Stark bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.34 per share, for a total transaction of $20,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,500. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Prospect Capital Price Performance

Shares of Prospect Capital stock opened at $1.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.32. Prospect Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $1.29 and a 52 week high of $3.12. The stock has a market cap of $835.49 million, a PE ratio of -10.00 and a beta of 0.84.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $151.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $163.14 million. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 13.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prospect Capital Corporation will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 27th will be issued a $0.0350 dividend. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 28.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 27th. Prospect Capital’s payout ratio is presently -280.00%.

Institutional Trading of Prospect Capital

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 51.7% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 20,534,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,435,000 after buying an additional 6,999,513 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Prospect Capital during the second quarter valued at $9,336,000. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $8,644,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Prospect Capital by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,685,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,388,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PSEC. Zacks Research raised shares of Prospect Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prospect Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Prospect Capital from $2.00 to $1.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $1.50.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market businesses. Its investments include senior and subordinated debt, structured finance, and equity securities. The company works with businesses seeking capital for purposes such as growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancing. Its portfolio spans a range of industries, with investments primarily in companies in the United States. Founded in 2004, Prospect Capital is externally managed by Prospect Capital Management L.P. and is headquartered in New York City.