CION Investment Co. (NYSE:CION) Short Interest Up 50.3% in March

CION Investment Co. (NYSE:CION) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 349,400 shares, a growth of 50.3% from the February 28th total of 232,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 317,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

CION Investment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CION traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.45. 424,494 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 235,387. The firm has a market capitalization of $553.87 million, a P/E ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.66. CION Investment has a 1 year low of $10.32 and a 1 year high of $12.71.

CION Investment (NYSE:CION) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $87.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.11 million. CION Investment had a net margin of 31.21% and a return on equity of 11.49%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CION Investment will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

CION Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. CION Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 228.57%.

Institutional Trading of CION Investment

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CION. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in CION Investment during the 4th quarter worth $11,882,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of CION Investment by 6,958.9% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 722,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,233,000 after buying an additional 711,970 shares during the period. Bulldog Investors LLP raised its holdings in shares of CION Investment by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 1,682,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,190,000 after acquiring an additional 646,596 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in CION Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $6,899,000. Finally, CF Capital LLC bought a new position in CION Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $4,809,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

CION Investment Company Profile

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.