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

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 461,100 shares, a growth of 41.1% from the February 13th total of 326,800 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 167,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Stellus Capital Investment Trading Up 1.8 %

SCM stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $14.23. The company had a trading volume of 209,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,859. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Stellus Capital Investment has a 52 week low of $12.92 and a 52 week high of $15.56. The stock has a market cap of $391.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.07.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $25.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.60 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a yield of 10.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,949 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the third quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter worth $244,000. 13.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

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.