Insider Buying: Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) CEO Buys $304,500.00 in Stock

Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) CEO Robert Ladd acquired 35,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 667,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,811,034.50. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Stellus Capital Investment Stock Performance

Shares of SCM stock opened at $9.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $275.89 million, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Stellus Capital Investment Corporation has a 12 month low of $8.43 and a 12 month high of $15.39.

Stellus Capital Investment (NYSE:SCM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $23.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.33 million. Stellus Capital Investment had a net margin of 26.48% and a return on equity of 10.28%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1133 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Stellus Capital Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.68%.

Institutional Trading of Stellus Capital Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Stellus Capital Investment by 65.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 156,050 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after buying an additional 62,002 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 155.5% during the second quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 62,530 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 38,059 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 390.7% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 146,133 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 116,352 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 253,763 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,537,000 after acquiring an additional 41,305 shares during the period. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stellus Capital Investment by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 206,893 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after acquiring an additional 62,888 shares during the period. 13.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Stellus Capital Investment from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Stellus Capital Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Stellus Capital Investment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.00.

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.