Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Short Interest Update

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 259,900 shares, a decrease of 43.6% from the February 28th total of 461,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 172,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SCM traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $14.26. 192,229 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,125. The firm has a market cap of $392.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.11. Stellus Capital Investment has a 52 week low of $12.92 and a 52 week high of $15.56.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.04). Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 45.39% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $25.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.1333 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 10.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,973 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 5,314 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 65,584 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,736 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,328,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 173,702 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,527 shares during the period. 13.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stellus Capital Investment Company Profile

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in private middle-market companies. It invests through first lien, second lien, unitranche, and mezzanine debt financing, often with a corresponding equity investment. The fund prefers to invest in US and Canada.