Short Interest in Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Grows By 24.4%

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 185,800 shares, a growth of 24.4% from the December 15th total of 149,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 147,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,106 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,949 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

Shares of Stellus Capital Investment stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.28. 178,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 130,979. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Stellus Capital Investment has a fifty-two week low of $12.48 and a fifty-two week high of $14.68.

Stellus Capital Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 29th will be given a $0.1333 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.63%.

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.