1. CION Investment Corporation (NYSE:CION)
Dividend Yield as of March 13: 18.32%
Upside Potential as of March 13: 24.1%
On March 13, Lucid Capital analyst Erik Zwick lowered the firm’s price recommendation on CION Investment Corporation (NYSE:CION) to $10.50 from $12.50. It reiterated a Buy rating on the shares following the Q4 report. The firm said the stock’s “discount valuation” presents an attractive risk/reward scenario.
During the Q4 2025 earnings call, Co-Founder, Co-Chairman, and Co-CEO Michael Reisner said the company’s core first-lien portfolio continued to perform well. He noted that these investments make up about 81% of the overall portfolio. Reisner said the weighted average interest coverage ratio improved quarter over quarter, rising from 1.94x to 2.26x. EBITDA growth across portfolio companies also remained positive. He added that nonaccruals stayed largely unchanged at 1.78% of the portfolio’s fair value. Exposure to the software sector remained limited, accounting for about 1.8% of the portfolio.
Reisner also discussed the decline in net asset value. He said NAV fell 7.4% during the quarter to $13.76, down from $14.86 at the end of September. According to Reisner, the drop was mainly driven by unrealized mark-to-market adjustments along with performance in several equity positions. These included Juice Plus, Entertainment, David’s Bridal, and Avison Young. He also noted that capital markets activity remained active during the period. Reisner said the company raised $172.5 million in senior unsecured notes during the fourth quarter, split between 2027 and 2029 maturities.
After the quarter ended, the company issued another $135 million in unsecured public baby bonds due in 2031. Together, these transactions brought total unsecured borrowings raised to $307.5 million. Reisner said the moves strengthened the balance sheet’s flexibility and extended its duration. He also added that the company repurchased about 556,000 shares during the period at an average price of $9.37 per share.
CION Investment Corporation (NYSE:CION) is an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. The company’s investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation for investors.
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