BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Holdings in Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Prospect Capital Co. (NASDAQ:PSEC) by 90.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 259,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,200 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.06% of Prospect Capital worth $1,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Envision Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. PFG Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 9.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prospect Capital Stock Down 1.1%

PSEC stock opened at $3.63 on Wednesday. Prospect Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $3.39 and a fifty-two week high of $5.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of -18.15 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.05. Prospect Capital had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 1.18%. The business had revenue of $170.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.29 million.

Prospect Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Prospect Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -62.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Prospect Capital news, Director William Gremp bought 19,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.29 per share, with a total value of $81,939.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 75,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $322,406.37. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John F. Barry bought 240,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.20 per share, for a total transaction of $1,008,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 81,981,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,324,118.60. The trade was a 0.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 2,548,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,970,715. Insiders own 28.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PSEC. StockNews.com upgraded Prospect Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Prospect Capital from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th.

About Prospect Capital

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.