Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Prospect Capital in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prospect Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $2.50.

Prospect Capital Trading Up 5.5%

NASDAQ:PSEC opened at $3.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.75. Prospect Capital has a 12 month low of $2.45 and a 12 month high of $4.47.

Prospect Capital (NASDAQ:PSEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $176.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.34 million. Prospect Capital had a negative net margin of 39.56% and a positive return on equity of 11.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prospect Capital

In related news, COO M Grier Eliasek bought 942,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $2.92 per share, with a total value of $2,752,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,443,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,056,275.60. This represents a 37.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 27.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prospect Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prospect Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Prospect Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Prospect Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prospect Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 9.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prospect Capital

Prospect Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business development company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange that specializes in providing private debt and equity financing solutions to middle-market companies across the United States. Structured as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, Prospect Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of senior secured loans, subordinated debt and selective equity interests in privately held businesses.

Since its founding in 2004, Prospect Capital has focused on tailoring financing structures to meet the growth, acquisition and recapitalization needs of its portfolio companies.