Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Stellus Capital Investment Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Stellus Capital Investment stock opened at $14.50 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $398.90 million, a PE ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 1.07. Stellus Capital Investment has a 1 year low of $12.92 and a 1 year high of $15.56.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $25.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.60 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 45.39%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCM. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $3,328,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 171,467 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,359,000 after buying an additional 55,841 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $345,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $251,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the fourth quarter worth $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.