Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Downgraded 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 report released on Thursday.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

Stellus Capital Investment stock opened at $14.50 on Thursday. Stellus Capital Investment has a 1-year low of $12.92 and a 1-year high of $15.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.90 million, a PE ratio of 7.40 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.11.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The investment management company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $25.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.60 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 45.39%. As a group, analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,949 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 55,841 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter worth $345,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the third quarter valued at about $226,000. 13.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.