Great Elm Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:GECC) Short Interest Up 48.1% in October

Great Elm Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:GECC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 24,000 shares, a growth of 48.1% from the October 15th total of 16,200 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 17,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Great Elm Capital Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of GECC stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $10.08. The stock had a trading volume of 4,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,765. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.24. Great Elm Capital has a 1 year low of $9.55 and a 1 year high of $11.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.28 million, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.60.

Great Elm Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.90%. Great Elm Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 202.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Matthew A. Drapkin purchased 3,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.01 per share, for a total transaction of $31,921.89. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 64,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,708.06. This trade represents a 5.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Elm Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GECC. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Elm Capital in the third quarter valued at $127,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Great Elm Capital by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 27,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the period. Finally, Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Great Elm Capital by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC now owns 95,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 21,422 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.75% of the company’s stock.

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.