Capital Southwest Co. (NASDAQ:CSWC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Capital Southwest Co. (NASDAQ:CSWC) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 848,500 shares, a growth of 85.9% from the August 31st total of 456,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 225,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Capital Southwest Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of CSWC stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $25.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 64,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,632. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.24. Capital Southwest has a 1-year low of $20.72 and a 1-year high of $27.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.39.

Capital Southwest (NASDAQ:CSWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The asset manager reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $51.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.31 million. Capital Southwest had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 38.92%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Capital Southwest will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Capital Southwest Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.23%. This is a positive change from Capital Southwest’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Capital Southwest’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Capital Southwest

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in shares of Capital Southwest during the 1st quarter worth about $16,079,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Capital Southwest by 25.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,059,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,635,000 after purchasing an additional 211,992 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Capital Southwest by 273.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 157,134 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,100,000 after buying an additional 115,051 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Capital Southwest in the 1st quarter valued at $2,391,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Capital Southwest in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,937,000. 23.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, B. Riley cut their price objective on Capital Southwest from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Capital Southwest Company Profile

Capital Southwest Corporation is a business development company specializing in credit and private equity and venture capital investments in middle market companies, mezzanine, later stage, mature, late venture, emerging growth, buyouts, recapitalizations and growth capital investments. It does not invest in startups, publicly traded companies, real estate developments, project finance opportunities, oil and gas exploration businesses, troubled companies, turnarounds, and companies in which significant senior management is departing.