CION Investment Co. (NYSE:CION) Short Interest Update

CION Investment Co. (NYSE:CION) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 439,900 shares, a growth of 25.9% from the March 15th total of 349,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 348,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

CION Investment Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CION traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.45. 233,080 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 253,116. CION Investment has a 12-month low of $8.51 and a 12-month high of $12.71. The firm has a market cap of $500.84 million, a P/E ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.38.

CION Investment (NYSE:CION) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $87.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. CION Investment had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 11.49%. As a group, equities analysts expect that CION Investment will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

CION Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. CION Investment’s payout ratio is 228.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of CION Investment in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CION Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of CION Investment in the 4th quarter worth $11,882,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in CION Investment by 6,958.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 722,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,233,000 after buying an additional 711,970 shares during the last quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP lifted its stake in CION Investment by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 1,682,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,190,000 after acquiring an additional 646,596 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CION Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,899,000. Finally, CF Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CION Investment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,809,000. Institutional investors own 32.01% of the company’s stock.

About CION Investment

CION Investment Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in investments in senior secured loans, including unitranche loans, First Lien, second lien loans, long-term subordinated loans, and mezzanine loans; equity interests such as warrants or options; and corporate bonds; and other debt securities in middle-market companies.