Inspire Advisors LLC Acquires 43,732 Shares of Stellus Capital Investment Corporation $SCM

Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 106,262 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 43,732 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Stellus Capital Investment worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Stellus Capital Investment by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 27,882 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 3,808 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment in the first quarter worth about $157,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Stellus Capital Investment in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 94,048 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,311,000 after buying an additional 9,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Stellus Capital Investment by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 144,005 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after buying an additional 56,885 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Stellus Capital Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Stellus Capital Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.00.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE SCM opened at $13.28 on Monday. Stellus Capital Investment Corporation has a 12-month low of $11.19 and a 12-month high of $15.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.31 million, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The investment management company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.04. Stellus Capital Investment had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 29.77%.The firm had revenue of $26.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.97 million. As a group, analysts expect that Stellus Capital Investment Corporation will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stellus Capital Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Stellus Capital Investment’s payout ratio is presently 146.79%.

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.