Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Zacks Research lowered shares of Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Great Elm Capital Group in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Great Elm Capital Group has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Great Elm Capital Group Stock Down 0.8%

GECC stock opened at $5.21 on Monday. Great Elm Capital Group has a twelve month low of $4.63 and a twelve month high of $11.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $72.37 million, a PE ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.02.

Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. Great Elm Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 14.16% and a negative net margin of 70.13%.The firm had revenue of ($1.91) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.74 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Great Elm Capital Group will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Great Elm Capital Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 19.2%. Great Elm Capital Group’s payout ratio is presently -41.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GECC. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Great Elm Capital Group by 247.9% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 106,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 75,588 shares in the last quarter. Granby Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Great Elm Capital Group in the fourth quarter valued at $352,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Great Elm Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth $220,000. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in Great Elm Capital Group during the fourth quarter worth $148,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Great Elm Capital Group during the third quarter valued at $169,000. Institutional investors own 38.75% of the company’s stock.

About Great Elm Capital Group

Great Elm Capital Group, Inc (NASDAQ: GECC) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing in private, middle-market companies. The firm targets senior secured loans, subordinated debt and equity securities of U.S. companies, with a focus on businesses offering stable cash flows and potential for growth. Industry sectors of interest include business services, consumer products, industrials and healthcare, among others.

GECC’s investment strategy emphasizes portfolio diversification and active management.