Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The investment management company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 38.24%.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

Shares of SCM traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $11.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 313,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,364. Stellus Capital Investment has a fifty-two week low of $11.19 and a fifty-two week high of $15.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.1333 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.6%. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is currently 110.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 138.9% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 507,526 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $7,075,000 after purchasing an additional 295,068 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the first quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Group One Trading LLC boosted its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 112.3% in the 2nd quarter. Group One Trading LLC now owns 11,401 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,030 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. 13.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on SCM shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stellus Capital Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.00.

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.