Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Short Interest Up 14.2% in June

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 680,600 shares, an increase of 14.2% from the May 31st total of 596,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 418,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Barings BDC

In other Barings BDC news, insider Michael Freno acquired 27,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.73 per share, for a total transaction of $267,575.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 71,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $692,240.85. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Barings BDC

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBDC. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Barings BDC in the 1st quarter valued at $4,666,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Barings BDC by 1,692.9% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,379,000 after buying an additional 252,079 shares in the last quarter. Privium Fund Management UK Ltd acquired a new position in Barings BDC during the fourth quarter worth about $1,533,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Barings BDC by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,691,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,510,000 after acquiring an additional 161,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Barings BDC during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,080,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.09% of the company’s stock.

Barings BDC Price Performance

Shares of BBDC stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.88. 82,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 462,791. Barings BDC has a 52-week low of $7.60 and a 52-week high of $10.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.70 and a 200 day moving average of $9.31.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, May 4th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). Barings BDC had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 45.35%. The business had revenue of $69.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Barings BDC will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. Barings BDC’s payout ratio is presently 84.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Barings BDC from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd.

Barings BDC Company Profile

Barings BDC, Inc is a publicly traded, externally managed investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. It seeks to invest primarily in senior secured loans, first lien debt, unitranche, second lien debt, subordinated debt, equity co-investments and senior secured private debt investments in private middle-market companies that operate across a wide range of industries.