Short Interest in Great Elm Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:GECC) Declines By 22.3%

Great Elm Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:GECC - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 30,000 shares, a decrease of 22.3% from the March 15th total of 38,600 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Great Elm Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GECC. Northern Right Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Great Elm Capital by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Right Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,035,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,384,000 after buying an additional 237,367 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Great Elm Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $187,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Elm Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new position in Great Elm Capital during the fourth quarter worth $129,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.75% of the company's stock.

Great Elm Capital Stock Performance

GECC traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $10.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,237. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The company's fifty day moving average price is $10.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.35. Great Elm Capital has a 52-week low of $8.87 and a 52-week high of $11.39. The company has a market capitalization of $116.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 1.18.

Great Elm Capital (NASDAQ:GECC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $9.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.46 million. Great Elm Capital had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 11.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Great Elm Capital will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Great Elm Capital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Great Elm Capital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Great Elm Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 477.42%.

About Great Elm Capital

Great Elm Capital Corp. is a business development company which specializes in loan and mezzanine, middle market investments. It invests in the debt instruments of middle market companies. The fund prefers to invest in media, commercial services and supplies, healthcare, telecommunication services, communications equipment.