Short Interest in Capital Southwest Co. (NASDAQ:CSWC) Expands By 33.3%

Capital Southwest Co. (NASDAQ:CSWC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, a growth of 33.3% from the January 31st total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 542,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Capital Southwest Stock Performance

Capital Southwest stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.47. 511,130 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 516,005. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.58. Capital Southwest has a fifty-two week low of $20.68 and a fifty-two week high of $27.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Capital Southwest (NASDAQ:CSWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The asset manager reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Capital Southwest had a return on equity of 15.18% and a net margin of 33.49%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Capital Southwest will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital Southwest Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Capital Southwest’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 164.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Capital Southwest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Capital Southwest during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Capital Southwest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Capital Southwest during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Capital Southwest by 243.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in Capital Southwest by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,550 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. 23.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Capital Southwest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Capital Southwest Company Profile

Capital Southwest Corporation is a business development company specializing in credit and private equity and venture capital investments in middle market companies, mezzanine, later stage, mature, late venture, emerging growth, buyouts, industry consolidation, recapitalizations and growth capital investments.