Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Prospect Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prospect Capital currently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $2.00.

Prospect Capital Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PSEC opened at $1.84 on Monday. Prospect Capital has a one year low of $1.75 and a one year high of $3.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.20 and a 200-day moving average of $2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $982.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80 and a beta of 0.82.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.04. Prospect Capital had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $155.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prospect Capital will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prospect Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.0350 per share. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 22.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 840.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Barry. III acquired 1,217,105 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.24 per share, for a total transaction of $2,726,315.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,479,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,675,173.12. This represents a 1.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 25.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PSEC. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Prospect Capital by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 16,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 6,056 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC bought a new stake in Prospect Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Prospect Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Prospect Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. 9.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prospect Capital Company Profile

Prospect Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to privately held, middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in first-lien and second-lien loans, subordinated debt, and other debt and equity securities. Its investments are designed to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancings, and other corporate purposes.

Through its investment platform, Prospect Capital also participates in specialized finance and structured investment activities, including investments in real estate-related assets and other operating businesses.