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

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 461,100 shares, a growth of 41.1% from the February 13th total of 326,800 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 167,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,949 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 3rd quarter worth about $226,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 3rd quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 64,339 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

NYSE:SCM traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.97. 332,543 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,477. Stellus Capital Investment has a 1-year low of $12.92 and a 1-year high of $15.56. The stock has a market cap of $384.32 million, a P/E ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.57 and its 200-day moving average is $14.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $26.60 million. Equities research analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.1333 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a yield of 10.88%. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

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.