Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Short Interest Down 43.6% in March

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during 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. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 172,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% during the third 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 position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the third quarter valued at $226,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $244,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $251,000. 13.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SCM traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.26. The stock had a trading volume of 192,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,125. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. 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 has a twelve month low of $12.92 and a twelve month high of $15.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.07.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.04). Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 45.39% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $25.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.60 million. On average, analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

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