Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) CEO Acquires $2,130,055.83 in Stock

Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC) CEO John Barry purchased 1,410,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.51 per share, for a total transaction of $2,130,055.83. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 95,808,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,671,094.72. This trade represents a 1.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Prospect Capital Trading Down 6.3%

NASDAQ PSEC opened at $1.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.57 million, a P/E ratio of -9.37 and a beta of 0.84. Prospect Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $1.29 and a 52-week high of $3.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.31.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Prospect Capital had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 3.80%. The company had revenue of $151.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.14 million. Equities research analysts expect that Prospect Capital Corporation will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 27th will be issued a $0.0350 dividend. This represents a $0.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 29.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 27th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -280.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prospect Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Prospect Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,200,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Prospect Capital by 19.9% during the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 275,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 45,717 shares in the last quarter. GatePass Capital LLC boosted its position in Prospect Capital by 26.5% during the third quarter. GatePass Capital LLC now owns 549,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 115,100 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Prospect Capital by 46.0% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 130,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 41,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in Prospect Capital by 131.7% in the third quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 98,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PSEC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prospect Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Prospect Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Prospect Capital from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. One equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $1.50.

About Prospect Capital

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.