Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 206,900 shares, a decline of 20.4% from the March 15th total of 259,900 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 199,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SCM shares. StockNews.com downgraded Stellus Capital Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Stellus Capital Investment from $13.50 to $13.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,949 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 171,467 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 55,841 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $345,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,328,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $251,000. 13.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

Shares of SCM traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $13.29. The stock had a trading volume of 56,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,865. Stellus Capital Investment has a twelve month low of $11.19 and a twelve month high of $15.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.60 million, a PE ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.81 and a 200 day moving average of $13.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.04). Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 45.39% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $25.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.60 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.1333 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.04%. Stellus Capital Investment's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

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.