Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Short Interest Down 20.4% in March

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 206,900 shares, a decrease 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 short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SCM. StockNews.com cut shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Stellus Capital Investment from $13.50 to $13.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 acquiring 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. bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,328,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.22% of the company's stock.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

Shares of SCM traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $13.16. 123,933 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,003. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $11.19 and a fifty-two week high of $15.56. The company has a market cap of $362.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.86 and its 200 day moving average is $13.97.

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

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Stellus Capital Investment's 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.