Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Stock Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM)’s stock price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $12.07 and traded as low as $9.09. Stellus Capital Investment shares last traded at $9.12, with a volume of 133,082 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SCM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Stellus Capital Investment from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.00.

Stellus Capital Investment Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $264.02 million, a PE ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.07.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The investment management company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $23.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.33 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 26.48%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stellus Capital Investment Corporation will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.1133 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.9%. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is currently 144.68%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCM. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,066 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 5.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 60,048 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 107,787 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Stellus Capital Investment Company Profile

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.