Capital Southwest (NASDAQ:CSWC) Sees Large Volume Increase on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Capital Southwest Co. (NASDAQ:CSWC – Get Rating) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 546,536 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 87% from the previous session’s volume of 291,889 shares.The stock last traded at $18.24 and had previously closed at $18.35.

The asset manager reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Capital Southwest had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The firm had revenue of $37.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Capital Southwest Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This is a positive change from Capital Southwest’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th. Capital Southwest’s dividend payout ratio is currently 190.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSWC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Capital Southwest from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Capital Southwest in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Capital Southwest from $20.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. TheStreet lowered shares of Capital Southwest from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Capital Southwest in a report on Friday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.30.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Capital Southwest

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Capital Southwest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Capital Southwest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Capital Southwest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in shares of Capital Southwest in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Capital Southwest by 4,740.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the last quarter. 26.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Capital Southwest Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $630.72 million, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Capital Southwest Company Profile

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Capital Southwest is a publicly–owned business development company with total assets of $496 million as of June 30, 2010. We provide patient capital to exceptional businesses with significant growth potential. As a public company, we have the flexibility to hold investments indefinitely, which has provided the management teams of our holdings a stable ownership platform since we were founded in 1961.