Gladstone Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:GLAD) Short Interest Up 21.7% in March

Key Points

• Short interest up 21.7% — Short interest rose to 562,240 shares as of March 31 (2.6% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover ratio of about 2.0.
• Monthly dividend $0.15 — Gladstone declared a $0.15 monthly dividend (paid June 30) implying a ~9.5% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 113.21%.
• Analyst and stock snapshot — The consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $21.67 while GLAD opened at $18.88 (12‑month range $16.54–$29.50), market cap ~$426.5M and a PE of 11.87.

Gladstone Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:GLAD - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 562,240 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the March 15th total of 462,019 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 277,577 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Gladstone Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gladstone Capital by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 28,853 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Gladstone Capital by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 110,304 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gladstone Capital by 89.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gladstone Capital by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 29,896 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Gladstone Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 10.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLAD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $21.00 price objective on Gladstone Capital and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Gladstone Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Gladstone Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gladstone Capital has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.67.

Gladstone Capital Stock Down 1.2%

GLAD stock opened at $18.88 on Friday. Gladstone Capital has a twelve month low of $16.54 and a twelve month high of $29.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $426.50 million, a PE ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $18.12 and a 200 day moving average of $19.61.

Gladstone Capital (NASDAQ:GLAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $24.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.70 million. Gladstone Capital had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 39.42%. On average, research analysts forecast that Gladstone Capital will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gladstone Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. Gladstone Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.21%.

About Gladstone Capital

Gladstone Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that provides debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. lower middle-market companies. Operating under an external management agreement with Gladstone Management L.P., the firm offers senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and equity investments designed to support growth initiatives, acquisitions and recapitalizations. Through its focus on privately held businesses, Gladstone Capital seeks to construct a diversified portfolio across various industry sectors.

Since its formation in 2003, Gladstone Capital has developed a track record of working closely with management teams and business owners to meet their capital needs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.