Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) announced its earnings results on Monday. The investment management company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27, Zacks reports. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 26.48%.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SCM traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $9.49. 232,865 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,841. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $9.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.32. The firm has a market cap of $274.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.66. Stellus Capital Investment has a one year low of $8.43 and a one year high of $15.39.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.1133 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO W. Todd Huskinson purchased 5,700 shares of Stellus Capital Investment stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.79 per share, for a total transaction of $50,103.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,297 shares in the company, valued at $477,270.63. This represents a 11.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce R. Bilger purchased 45,490 shares of Stellus Capital Investment stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.74 per share, with a total value of $397,582.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 228,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,200.70. This represents a 24.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 87,890 shares of company stock worth $766,551 over the last quarter. 3.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 138.9% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 507,526 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,075,000 after buying an additional 295,068 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 695.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 309,045 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,919,000 after buying an additional 270,199 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 3.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 225,264 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,942,000 after buying an additional 7,132 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 183,055 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,321,000 after buying an additional 38,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 107,787 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SCM shares. Zacks Research cut Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Stellus Capital Investment from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stellus Capital Investment has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

About Stellus Capital Investment

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE: SCM) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides debt and equity financing to middle market companies in the United States. As an investment vehicle specializing in private credit, Stellus focuses on originating and structuring senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, and equity co-investments tailored to the unique needs of growing businesses. Its flexible capital solutions are designed to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, and balance sheet refinancings.

Operating under an evergreen structure, Stellus Capital Investment partners with a diverse group of portfolio companies across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, business services, and specialty finance.