Short Interest in Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) Grows By 18.5%

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 797,134 shares, an increase of 18.5% from the February 26th total of 672,959 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 341,749 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SCM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Stellus Capital Investment from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

Shares of Stellus Capital Investment stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.14. 52,078 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,184. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Stellus Capital Investment has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $15.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.71 and its 200 day moving average is $11.92. The stock has a market cap of $264.46 million, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.68.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The investment management company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.02). Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 26.48% and a return on equity of 10.28%. The firm had revenue of $23.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.33 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.1133 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is 144.68%.

Insider Activity at Stellus Capital Investment

In other Stellus Capital Investment news, CEO Robert T. Ladd acquired 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.70 per share, with a total value of $304,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 667,935 shares in the company, valued at $5,811,034.50. This trade represents a 5.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO W. Todd Huskinson bought 5,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.79 per share, with a total value of $50,103.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 54,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $477,270.63. The trade was a 11.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 87,890 shares of company stock valued at $766,551. Corporate insiders own 3.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCM. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 138.9% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 507,526 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $7,075,000 after acquiring an additional 295,068 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 695.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 309,045 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,919,000 after acquiring an additional 270,199 shares during the period. Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 253,534 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 46,641 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 3.3% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 225,264 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 7,132 shares during the period. Finally, Condor Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 214,438 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 11,592 shares during the period. 13.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stellus Capital Investment Company Profile

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.