Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:SCM opened at $14.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.08. Stellus Capital Investment has a one year low of $12.92 and a one year high of $15.56. The company has a market capitalization of $391.47 million, a price-to-earnings 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 (NYSE:SCM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.04). Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 45.39% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $25.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.60 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SCM. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,949 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter worth $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.