Capital Southwest Co. (NASDAQ:CSWC) Short Interest Down 40.1% in March

Capital Southwest Co. (NASDAQ:CSWC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 646,800 shares, a drop of 40.1% from the March 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 391,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on CSWC shares. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Capital Southwest in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Capital Southwest from $24.00 to $26.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on Capital Southwest from $23.50 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.88.

Capital Southwest Stock Up 0.5 %

Capital Southwest stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $25.03. The stock had a trading volume of 142,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 388,843. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.21. Capital Southwest has a 12-month low of $17.31 and a 12-month high of $26.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $24.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.43.

Capital Southwest (NASDAQ:CSWC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.04. Capital Southwest had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 52.16%. The company had revenue of $48.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.12 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Capital Southwest will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Capital Southwest Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Capital Southwest's payout ratio is presently 97.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Capital Southwest

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSWC. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Capital Southwest by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 35,257 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Capital Southwest by 3.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 25,826 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Capital Southwest by 3.1% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,583 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in Capital Southwest in the first quarter valued at approximately $448,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in Capital Southwest by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 7,765 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.42% of the company's stock.

About Capital Southwest

Capital Southwest Corporation is a business development company specializing in credit and private equity and venture capital investments in middle market companies, mezzanine, later stage, mature, late venture, emerging growth, buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital investments. It does not invest in startups, publicly traded companies, real estate developments, project finance opportunities, oil and gas exploration businesses, troubled companies, turnarounds, and companies in which significant senior management is departing.

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