Great Elm Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:GECC) Short Interest Up 105.3% in September

Great Elm Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:GECC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,500 shares, an increase of 105.3% from the August 31st total of 9,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Great Elm Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Great Elm Capital stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.09. 23,293 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,600. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.60. Great Elm Capital has a 12-month low of $8.38 and a 12-month high of $11.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.36.

Great Elm Capital (NASDAQ:GECC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Great Elm Capital had a net margin of 27.61% and a return on equity of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $9.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Great Elm Capital will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Great Elm Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.88%. Great Elm Capital’s payout ratio is presently 63.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Great Elm Capital news, Director Matthew A. Drapkin bought 9,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.92 per share, with a total value of $95,232.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 75,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $751,102.72. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Matthew A. Drapkin bought 3,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.01 per share, with a total value of $31,921.89. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,806 shares in the company, valued at $648,708.06. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew A. Drapkin bought 9,600 shares of Great Elm Capital stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.92 per share, with a total value of $95,232.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 75,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $751,102.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Great Elm Capital

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Great Elm Capital stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Great Elm Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:GECC) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,214 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Great Elm Capital worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.75% of the company’s stock.

Great Elm Capital Company Profile

Great Elm Capital Corp. is a business development company which specializes in loan and mezzanine, middle market investments. It invests in the debt instruments of middle market companies. The fund prefers to invest in media, commercial services and supplies, healthcare, telecommunication services, communications equipment.