Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 326,800 shares, a growth of 72.6% from the January 31st total of 189,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 142,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

SCM traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, hitting $15.19. 72,229 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 137,798. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Stellus Capital Investment has a one year low of $12.75 and a one year high of $15.56. The firm has a market cap of $411.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.07.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 81.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCM. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $3,328,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 2.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 228,375 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,126,000 after buying an additional 4,859 shares in the last quarter. Condor Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 183,778 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,529,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 173,702 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 171,467 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after buying an additional 55,841 shares in the last quarter. 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.