Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The investment management company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.02), FiscalAI reports. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 29.77%.The company had revenue of $23.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.33 million.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

SCM stock opened at $9.48 on Thursday. Stellus Capital Investment has a 1 year low of $9.29 and a 1 year high of $15.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.10 and a quick ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.45 million, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.47.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.1133 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.3%. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 124.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SCM shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.00.

Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 281,166 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 7,066 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 60,048 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 107,787 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 183,055 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,321,000 after buying an additional 38,733 shares during the period. 13.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stellus Capital Investment

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE: SCM) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides debt and equity financing to middle market companies in the United States. As an investment vehicle specializing in private credit, Stellus focuses on originating and structuring senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, and equity co-investments tailored to the unique needs of growing businesses. Its flexible capital solutions are designed to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, and balance sheet refinancings.

Operating under an evergreen structure, Stellus Capital Investment partners with a diverse group of portfolio companies across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, business services, and specialty finance.