Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GECC. Capital One Financial set a $11.00 target price on shares of Great Elm Capital Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Great Elm Capital Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott dropped their target price on Great Elm Capital Group from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Great Elm Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Great Elm Capital Group currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Great Elm Capital Group Price Performance

Shares of GECC opened at $6.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $7.40 and its 200-day moving average is $9.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $95.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.23 and a beta of 0.64. Great Elm Capital Group has a fifty-two week low of $6.61 and a fifty-two week high of $11.45.

Great Elm Capital Group (NASDAQ:GECC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $7.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.48 million. Great Elm Capital Group had a positive return on equity of 10.97% and a negative net margin of 17.08%. Equities research analysts expect that Great Elm Capital Group will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Matthew D. Kaplan bought 19,650 shares of Great Elm Capital Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.64 per share, for a total transaction of $150,126.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 142,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,087,936. This trade represents a 16.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Great Elm Capital Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in Great Elm Capital Group in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Great Elm Capital Group by 95.5% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 24,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 11,956 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Great Elm Capital Group in the third quarter valued at about $306,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Great Elm Capital Group in the third quarter worth about $160,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Great Elm Capital Group in the third quarter worth about $169,000. Institutional investors own 38.75% of the company’s stock.

About Great Elm Capital Group

Great Elm Capital Group, Inc (NASDAQ: GECC) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that seeks to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing in private, middle-market companies. The firm targets senior secured loans, subordinated debt and equity securities of U.S. companies, with a focus on businesses offering stable cash flows and potential for growth. Industry sectors of interest include business services, consumer products, industrials and healthcare, among others.

GECC’s investment strategy emphasizes portfolio diversification and active management.