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

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 206,900 shares, a decrease of 20.4% from the March 15th total of 259,900 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 199,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,314 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,736 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,328,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Stellus Capital Investment from $13.50 to $13.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of SCM opened at $12.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $13.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.00. Stellus Capital Investment has a 12 month low of $11.19 and a 12 month high of $15.56. The company has a market capitalization of $351.54 million, a PE ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $25.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.60 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 45.39%. On average, analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

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.