Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Short Interest Down 25.7% in March

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 270,700 shares, a drop of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 364,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 273,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Price Performance

BCSF stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.70. 351,510 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 238,596. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a 52 week low of $15.29 and a 52 week high of $19.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a net margin of 43.62% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $73.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.50 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Bain Capital Specialty Finance will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bain Capital Specialty Finance

In other Bain Capital Specialty Finance news, Director Clare Stack Richer bought 1,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.43 per share, for a total transaction of $25,137.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $342,319.05. This trade represents a 7.93 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the third quarter worth about $136,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter.

About Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc is business development company specializing in direct loans to middle-market companies. The fund seeks to invest in senior investments with a first or second lien on collateral, senior first lien, stretch senior, senior second lien, unitranche, mezzanine debt, junior securities, other junior investments, and secondary purchases of assets or portfolios that primarily consist of middle-market corporate debt.