SURO Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:SSSS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in SURO Capital Corp. increased by 39.9% in August, reaching a total of 192,500 shares as of August 31st.
• The company recently reported an EPS of ($0.16) for the quarter, slightly surpassing expectations, though revenue fell short of estimates at $0.17 million.
• Insider transactions noted that CEO Mark D. Klein purchased 10,000 shares at an average price of $8.45, raising their stake in the company to approximately 1.53 million shares.

SURO Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:SSSS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 192,500 shares, a growth of 39.9% from the August 15th total of 137,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 229,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Currently, 0.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 229,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Insider Activity at SURO Capital

In related news, CEO Mark D. Klein purchased 10,000 shares of SURO Capital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.45 per share, with a total value of $84,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,530,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,933,485.50. This trade represents a 0.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tactive Advisors LLC bought a new position in SURO Capital in the second quarter valued at $154,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in SURO Capital in the second quarter valued at $122,000. EJF Capital LLC grew its position in SURO Capital by 11.4% in the second quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 79,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in SURO Capital by 222.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in SURO Capital by 289.1% in the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 70,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 52,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 12.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SSSS shares. Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of SURO Capital from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SURO Capital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. BTIG Research set a $10.00 price objective on shares of SURO Capital and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of SURO Capital from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of SURO Capital in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, SURO Capital has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.00.

SURO Capital Stock Down 0.7%

SSSS stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.15. 323,637 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 159,188. The firm's 50-day moving average is $8.68 and its 200-day moving average is $6.97. The company has a market cap of $218.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.84 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 22.50 and a quick ratio of 22.50. SURO Capital has a 12 month low of $3.78 and a 12 month high of $9.50.

SURO Capital (NASDAQ:SSSS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $0.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.50 million. SURO Capital had a negative return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2,015.55%.

SURO Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. SURO Capital's dividend payout ratio is -52.91%.

SURO Capital Company Profile

SuRo Capital Corp. is a business development company. The firm seeks to invest in growth capital, late stage and venture capital-backed private companies. SuRo Capital Corp. was founded in 2010 and is based in San Francisco, California with additional office in New York, New York.