Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) Director Bruce Bilger Acquires 45,490 Shares

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) Director Bruce Bilger bought 45,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.74 per share, for a total transaction of $397,582.60. Following 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

SCM stock traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $9.13. 327,640 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,030. Stellus Capital Investment Corporation has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $15.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $264.29 million, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.33.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The investment management company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $23.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.33 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 26.48%. On average, analysts forecast that Stellus Capital Investment Corporation will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.1133 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is presently 144.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SCM shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Stellus Capital Investment from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Stellus Capital Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stellus Capital Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 2.6% in the fourth 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. increased 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 worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 8,440 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 60,048 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.