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

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 67,200 shares, a drop of 47.0% from the February 29th total of 126,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 112,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,684,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the second quarter worth $1,583,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 117.8% during the first quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 140,899 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,985,000 after acquiring an additional 76,208 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 97.2% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 142,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 3rd quarter worth $787,000. 13.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SCM. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “sell” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a report on Wednesday, March 6th.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

Stellus Capital Investment stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $13.24. 61,770 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 111,511. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.06. Stellus Capital Investment has a 12-month low of $12.19 and a 12-month high of $15.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $319.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85 and a beta of 1.17.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The investment management company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 16.56% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $28.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 205.13%.

About Stellus Capital Investment

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.