Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Shares Sold by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) by 8.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,481 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,454 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Stellus Capital Investment were worth $490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 19,600 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the period. PEAK6 Investments LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $265,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $377,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 53,838 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 21,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $12.50 to $13.25 in a report on Monday, May 13th.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Stellus Capital Investment stock opened at $13.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Stellus Capital Investment Co. has a 12-month low of $12.19 and a 12-month high of $15.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.51 million, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.96 and its 200-day moving average is $13.34.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The investment management company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $26.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.98 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 24.08% and a return on equity of 14.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Stellus Capital Investment Co. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.1333 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is 148.15%.

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.