Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Stellus Capital Investment from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on Stellus Capital Investment from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Stellus Capital Investment currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SCM opened at $9.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Stellus Capital Investment has a 12-month low of $8.43 and a 12-month high of $15.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.73 million, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.66.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The investment management company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.27. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 23.59%.The firm had revenue of $23,292.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.81 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Stellus Capital Investment will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.1133 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 165.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Stellus Capital Investment news, Director Bruce R. Bilger purchased 45,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.74 per share, with a total value of $397,582.60. Following the purchase, the director owned 228,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,993,200.70. The trade was a 24.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert T. Ladd purchased 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.70 per share, with a total value of $304,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 667,935 shares in the company, valued at $5,811,034.50. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 87,890 shares of company stock valued at $766,551 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment in the first quarter worth $313,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 74,661 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 5,016 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the 1st quarter valued at $399,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 281,166 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 7,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 154,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

About Stellus Capital Investment

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE: SCM) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides debt and equity financing to middle market companies in the United States. As an investment vehicle specializing in private credit, Stellus focuses on originating and structuring senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, mezzanine debt, and equity co-investments tailored to the unique needs of growing businesses. Its flexible capital solutions are designed to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, and balance sheet refinancings.

Operating under an evergreen structure, Stellus Capital Investment partners with a diverse group of portfolio companies across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, business services, and specialty finance.