CION Investment Co. (NYSE:CION) Short Interest Update

CION Investment Co. (NYSE:CION) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 439,900 shares, an increase of 25.9% from the March 15th total of 349,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 348,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

CION Investment Price Performance

Shares of CION Investment stock opened at $9.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.36. CION Investment has a fifty-two week low of $8.51 and a fifty-two week high of $12.71. The company has a market cap of $493.15 million, a PE ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 1.17.

CION Investment (NYSE:CION) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). CION Investment had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $87.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.11 million. Analysts expect that CION Investment will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CION Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. CION Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 228.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of CION Investment in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CION. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CION Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $161,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in CION Investment during the third quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of CION Investment by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 358,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,261,000 after purchasing an additional 43,076 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of CION Investment by 108.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 10,129 shares during the period. Finally, Winthrop Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in CION Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $195,000. 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.