Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short Interest Surge: Stellus Capital Investment Corporation saw a significant increase in short interest, rising by 127.3% in July, with a total of 542,000 shares sold short as of July 31st.
• Dividend Announcement: The company announced a dividend of $0.1333 per share, to be paid on October 15th, which corresponds to a remarkable yield of 1,110.0%.
• Quarterly Earnings Results: Stellus Capital reported earnings of $0.35 EPS for the last quarter, matching analysts' expectations, with revenue slightly below estimates at $25.70 million.

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 542,000 shares, agrowthof127.3% from the July 15th total of 238,500 shares. Approximately2.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 139,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 139,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately2.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SCM traded down $0.0150 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.5150. The company had a trading volume of 198,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,667. Stellus Capital Investment has a twelve month low of $11.19 and a twelve month high of $15.56. 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 has a market capitalization of $412.52 million, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50 day moving average is $14.40 and its 200-day moving average is $13.95.

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 for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 38.24% and a return on equity of 11.06%. The business had revenue of $25.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.15 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.1333 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 1,110.0%. Stellus Capital Investment's dividend payout ratio is 110.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCM. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 21,355 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 27.7% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 15,440 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 30.1% during the fourth 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. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 65,584 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 9,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Condor Capital Management increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 4.1% during the first quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 191,392 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,679,000 after buying an additional 7,614 shares during the last quarter. 13.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.