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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,949 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $251,000. 13.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SCM traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.26. 192,229 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 157,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Stellus Capital Investment has a 1-year low of $12.92 and a 1-year high of $15.56. The stock has a market cap of $392.44 million, a P/E ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.11.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $26.60 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 45.39% and a return on equity of 13.49%. On average, analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

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