Short Interest in Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Drops By 20.4%

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in 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. Based on an average trading volume of 199,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Stellus Capital Investment from $13.50 to $13.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $3,328,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 171,467 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 55,841 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $345,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $251,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCM opened at $12.77 on Friday. Stellus Capital Investment has a fifty-two week low of $11.19 and a fifty-two week high of $15.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.99 and its 200 day moving average is $14.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $351.54 million, a P/E ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.84.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $25.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.60 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 45.39% and a return on equity of 13.49%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.52%. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio 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.