CION Investment Corporation (NYSE:CION) Short Interest Up 40.0% in April

Key Points

• Short interest in CION rose 40.0% in April to 887,895 shares (about 1.8% of shares outstanding), yielding a short-interest ratio of approximately 1.5 days based on average daily volume.
• CION announced a monthly dividend of $0.10 per share payable June 26, implying a roughly 15.7% annualized yield, though the dividend payout ratio is an unusual negative -307.69%, which may raise sustainability concerns.
• Several analysts have downgraded the stock, and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Strong Sell with a consensus price target of $7.00.

CION Investment Corporation (NYSE:CION - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 887,895 shares, an increase of 40.0% from the March 31st total of 634,345 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 603,503 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company's shares are sold short.

CION Investment Trading Up 1.9%

CION Investment stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $7.63. 396,803 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,932. CION Investment has a one year low of $6.50 and a one year high of $10.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $7.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.79. The company has a market cap of $385.47 million, a PE ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.13.

CION Investment (NYSE:CION - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.04). CION Investment had a positive return on equity of 12.42% and a negative net margin of 8.57%.The firm had revenue of $53.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.77 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CION Investment will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CION Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 15.7%. CION Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -307.69%.

Institutional Trading of CION Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CION. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of CION Investment by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 23,324 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CION Investment by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,219 shares of the company's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in CION Investment by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 50,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in CION Investment by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 19,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in CION Investment by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 21,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. 32.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CION has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CION Investment from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded CION Investment from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CION Investment from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of CION Investment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $7.00.

CION Investment Company Profile

CION Investment Corporation is a closed‐end, non‐diversified management investment company organized as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Externally managed by CION Investment Management, LLC, the firm specializes in providing flexible capital solutions to U.S. and Canadian middle‐market companies. By combining debt and equity financing, CION seeks to support growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations and other strategic initiatives for its portfolio companies.

The company’s investment strategy centers on senior secured loans, subordinated debt and private equity interests.

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