Sound Point Meridian Capital, Inc. (NYSE:SPMC) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest more than doubled: Short interest rose 103.2% to 133,718 shares as of August 14, representing about 0.7% of outstanding shares and a 3.0-day days-to-cover ratio.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans neutral: Ratings include one Buy, two Holds, and one Sell, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $15.12. Zacks downgraded the stock to “Strong Sell,” while B. Riley cut its target to $10.00.
• Recent results missed expectations, despite a high dividend yield: Quarterly EPS came in at $0.24 versus the $0.30 consensus, while revenue was $12.42 million versus estimates of $14.18 million. The company declared a monthly $0.13-per-share dividend, implying a 16.3% annualized yield.

Sound Point Meridian Capital, Inc. (NYSE:SPMC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 133,718 shares, an increase of 103.2% from the July 30th total of 65,804 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 44,814 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Sound Point Meridian Capital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Sound Point Meridian Capital from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.12.

Sound Point Meridian Capital Stock Performance

Shares of SPMC stock opened at $9.55 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $9.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.78 million, a P/E ratio of -1.65 and a beta of 1.15. Sound Point Meridian Capital has a fifty-two week low of $8.36 and a fifty-two week high of $18.54.

Sound Point Meridian Capital (NYSE:SPMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $12.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.18 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sound Point Meridian Capital will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Sound Point Meridian Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.3%. Sound Point Meridian Capital's payout ratio is presently -41.52%.

Institutional Trading of Sound Point Meridian Capital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SPMC. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Sound Point Meridian Capital by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 77,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 20,163 shares during the last quarter. Kim LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $192,821,000. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. Everest Management Corp. grew its position in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Everest Management Corp. now owns 79,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 4,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sound Point Meridian Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $189,000.

Sound Point Meridian Capital Company Profile

Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to generate high current income, with a secondary objective to generate capital appreciation, by investing primarily in third-party collateralized loan obligation equity and mezzanine tranches. Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc is based in NEW YORK.

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