CION Investment Corporation $CION Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of CION Investment Corporation (NYSE:CION) by 27.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,236,397 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 268,242 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in CION Investment were worth $7,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CION. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of CION Investment in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of CION Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CION Investment in the second quarter valued at about $73,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CION Investment by 21.7% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 8,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in CION Investment by 183.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 5,739 shares during the last quarter. 32.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CION Investment Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:CION opened at $7.42 on Wednesday. CION Investment Corporation has a 52 week low of $5.83 and a 52 week high of $10.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $6.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $365.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.67 and a beta of 1.14.

CION Investment (NYSE:CION) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.03. CION Investment had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm had revenue of $49.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CION Investment Corporation will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CION Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.2%. CION Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 2,000.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on CION shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CION Investment from $7.00 to $6.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CION Investment from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of CION Investment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.50.

CION Investment Profile

CION Investment Corporation is a closed‐end, non‐diversified management investment company organized as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Externally managed by CION Investment Management, LLC, the firm specializes in providing flexible capital solutions to U.S. and Canadian middle‐market companies. By combining debt and equity financing, CION seeks to support growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations and other strategic initiatives for its portfolio companies.

The company’s investment strategy centers on senior secured loans, subordinated debt and private equity interests.