Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Short Interest Up 41.1% in February

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 461,100 shares, an increase of 41.1% from the February 13th total of 326,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 167,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

SCM stock opened at $14.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $391.47 million, a P/E ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Stellus Capital Investment has a 52-week low of $12.92 and a 52-week high of $15.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.07.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $25.62 million for 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%. Research analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.1333 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a yield of 10.88%. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,973 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 5,314 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 65,584 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 9,736 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,328,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 173,702 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

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.