Stellus Capital Investment Corporation $SCM Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Stellus Capital Investment Corporation by 115.9%, owning 39,305 shares valued at $550,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Stellus Capital Investment has a reported monthly dividend of $0.1333, set to be paid on September 15th, with a yield of 11.0%.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded Stellus Capital Investment's rating from "sell" to "hold", reflecting the stock's average target price of $13.00.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM - Free Report) by 115.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,305 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,097 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Stellus Capital Investment worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 33.7% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 84,762 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 21,355 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 15,440 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,973 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 5,314 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the first quarter valued at about $150,000. Finally, Condor Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 4.1% in the first quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 191,392 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Stellus Capital Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.00.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

SCM stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $14.74. 157,406 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 136,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.93. Stellus Capital Investment Corporation has a 52-week low of $11.19 and a 52-week high of $15.56. The company has a market cap of $418.77 million, a P/E ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.87.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The investment management company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. The company had revenue of $25.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.15 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 38.24% and a return on equity of 11.06%. As a group, analysts predict that Stellus Capital Investment Corporation will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Stellus Capital Investment's dividend payout ratio is 110.34%.

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.