Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The investment management company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 11.06% and a net margin of 38.24%.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE SCM traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $11.74. The company had a trading volume of 315,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,407. Stellus Capital Investment has a fifty-two week low of $11.19 and a fifty-two week high of $15.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $13.02 and its 200 day moving average is $13.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $333.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 110.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 26,769 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 15.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,882 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 3,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SCM shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Stellus Capital Investment Company Profile

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.