Stellus Capital Investment Co. Plans Monthly Dividend of $0.13 (NYSE:SCM)

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM - Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Tuesday, April 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.1333 per share by the investment management company on Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th.

Stellus Capital Investment has raised its dividend payment by an average of 16.6% annually over the last three years. Stellus Capital Investment has a payout ratio of 112.7% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Stellus Capital Investment to earn $1.45 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 110.3%.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SCM traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.20. 204,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 165,176. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $14.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.03. Stellus Capital Investment has a 52-week low of $11.19 and a 52-week high of $15.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $335.61 million, a P/E ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.84.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $26.60 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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 downgraded Stellus Capital Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

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.