Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Stock Price

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $13.50 to $13.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

Stellus Capital Investment stock opened at $12.05 on Tuesday. Stellus Capital Investment has a 1-year low of $11.19 and a 1-year high of $15.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.48 million, a PE ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.04.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last released 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 firm had revenue of $25.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.60 million. As a group, analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.1333 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.28%. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,328,000. Condor Capital Management boosted its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 183,778 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,529,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 173,702 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 171,467 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 55,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 65,584 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 9,736 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

About Stellus Capital Investment

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.