CION Investment (NYSE:CION) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.39 EPS

CION Investment (NYSE:CION) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.39, Zacks reports. CION Investment had a negative net margin of 4.57% and a positive return on equity of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $78.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $52.41 million.

CION Investment Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of CION traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.61. 315,095 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 315,237. CION Investment has a 12 month low of $8.51 and a 12 month high of $12.71. The stock has a market cap of $500.56 million, a PE ratio of -50.58 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.76.

CION Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.0%. CION Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -757.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CION shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of CION Investment in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $8.50 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of CION Investment in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CION Investment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of CION Investment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.50.

Institutional Trading of CION Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CION Investment by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,343,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,854,000 after buying an additional 338,121 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in CION Investment by 4.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 182,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 7,532 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of CION Investment during the second quarter valued at approximately $768,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of CION Investment by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 49,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 8,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of CION Investment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $284,000. 32.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CION Investment

CION Investment Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in investments in senior secured loans, including unitranche loans, First Lien, second lien loans, long-term subordinated loans, and mezzanine loans; equity interests such as warrants or options; and corporate bonds; and other debt securities in middle-market companies.