Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Stellus Capital Investment Corporation's short interest jumped by 34.8% in August, with a total of 730,600 shares shorted as of August 15th.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Stellus Capital from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, maintaining a consensus target price of $13.00.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.1333 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 10.6%.

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 730,600 shares, agrowthof34.8% from the July 31st total of 542,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 143,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 143,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Stellus Capital Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.00.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

Shares of SCM stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $15.02. 186,546 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,264. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.59 and a 200 day moving average of $13.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Stellus Capital Investment has a 52-week low of $11.19 and a 52-week high of $15.56. The company has a market cap of $426.95 million, a PE ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.87.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The investment management company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $26.15 million. Research analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Stellus Capital Investment's dividend payout ratio is 110.34%.

Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 138.9% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 507,526 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $7,075,000 after acquiring an additional 295,068 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 248,953 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,485,000 after buying an additional 7,103 shares during the period. Condor Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 197,552 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,754,000 after buying an additional 6,160 shares during the period. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 197,095 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,748,000 after buying an additional 4,633 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 184,006 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,565,000 after buying an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.22% of the company's stock.

Stellus Capital Investment Company Profile

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.

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