What happened
Shares of business development company Newtek Business Services (NEWT -1.05%) traded nearly 13% lower as of 11 a.m. EDT after an analyst downgraded the company.
So what
An analyst from Compass Point downgraded Newtek from a buy rating to neutral but also raised the price target on the company from $33 per share to $38 per share. Shares currently trade around $33.60.
The company reported net investment income in the first quarter of this year of $0.68 per share, up from a loss of a penny reported in the first quarter of 2020.
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Meanwhile, the company also raised its dividend guidance, the primary way it returns capital to shareholders. Newtek is now increasing its annual dividend guidance to a range of $3 to $3.30 per share, up from previous guidance of $2.40 to $2.90 per share. Additionally, the company recently declared a second-quarter dividend of $0.70 per share, up 25% from the $0.56 dividend it paid in the second quarter 2020.
Now what
Despite the downgrade, Compass Point did upgrade its price target, and Newtek revised its guidance upward as well, so there is still upside here. The company has also only paid $1.20 in dividends in the first half of the year thus far, so to hit its guidance, dividends paid out in the second half of the year should outpace the first half.
