Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM - Free Report) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,036 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 26,145 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.23% of Stellus Capital Investment worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $251,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $345,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 64,339 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SCM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Stellus Capital Investment from $13.50 to $13.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Stellus Capital Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SCM traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $12.80. The stock had a trading volume of 27,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,795. The stock has a market cap of $352.15 million, a P/E ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $11.19 and a 12-month high of $15.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.00.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $25.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.60 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 45.39% and a return on equity of 13.49%. On average, equities analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment Co. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.1333 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Stellus Capital Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.