Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in Stellus Capital Investment Co. (NYSE:SCM) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,473 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 5,021 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp owned about 0.15% of Stellus Capital Investment worth $469,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 19.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 234,291 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 37,427 shares during the period. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 129.8% during the 3rd quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 43,058 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 24,317 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in 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 valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 21,015 shares in the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Stellus Capital Investment during the third quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. 13.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SCM shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer reissued 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. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $12.50 price objective (down previously from $13.00) on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th.

Stellus Capital Investment Price Performance

Stellus Capital Investment stock opened at $13.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.02. The stock has a market cap of $337.58 million, a P/E ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 1.17. Stellus Capital Investment Co. has a 12-month low of $12.19 and a 12-month high of $15.40.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The investment management company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $28.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment Co. will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.1333 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.43%. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 205.13%.

Stellus Capital Investment 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.