Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,127,919 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the previous session’s volume of 1,880,715 shares.The stock last traded at $5.12 and had previously closed at $5.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PSEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Prospect Capital from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Prospect Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th.

Prospect Capital Stock Down 5.2 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $202.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business also recently announced 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 14.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 28th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 211.76%.

Insider Activity at Prospect Capital

In other news, CFO Dask Kristin Lea Van purchased 3,330 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.50 per share, with a total value of $74,925.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,127.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 26.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prospect Capital by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 39,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 10,097 shares during the period. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital in the second quarter valued at $102,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Prospect Capital by 207.4% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 58,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 39,455 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Prospect Capital by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,248,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,085,000 after purchasing an additional 368,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Prospect Capital by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 9.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.