Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) Shares Pass Below 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Great Elm Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:GECC) shares passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.72 and traded as low as $5.38. Great Elm Capital Group shares last traded at $5.47, with a volume of 146,156 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GECC. Zacks Research raised Great Elm Capital Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Great Elm Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Clear Str cut Great Elm Capital Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Great Elm Capital Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $75.98 million, a P/E ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.21.

Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of ($1.91) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.74 million. Great Elm Capital Group had a negative net margin of 70.13% and a positive return on equity of 14.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Great Elm Capital Group, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Elm Capital Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Great Elm Capital Group’s payout ratio is currently -41.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GECC. Rangeley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Great Elm Capital Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Great Elm Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. raised its holdings in shares of Great Elm Capital Group by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. now owns 30,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 10,700 shares in the last quarter. Granby Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Great Elm Capital Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Great Elm Capital Group by 247.9% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 106,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 75,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.75% of the company’s stock.

About Great Elm Capital Group

Great Elm Capital Group, Inc (NASDAQ: GECC) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing in private, middle-market companies. The firm targets senior secured loans, subordinated debt and equity securities of U.S. companies, with a focus on businesses offering stable cash flows and potential for growth. Industry sectors of interest include business services, consumer products, industrials and healthcare, among others.

GECC’s investment strategy emphasizes portfolio diversification and active management.