Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 589,400 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the November 15th total of 558,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 380,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Barings BDC Price Performance

Shares of BBDC traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.49. 572,954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,439. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 0.68. Barings BDC has a 1-year low of $8.55 and a 1-year high of $10.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.85 and a 200-day moving average of $9.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Barings BDC had a net margin of 39.59% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The firm had revenue of $70.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Barings BDC will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings BDC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.96%. Barings BDC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barings BDC

In other news, insider Michael James O’connor sold 29,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.70, for a total value of $285,412.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Byers purchased 8,485 shares of Barings BDC stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.73 per share, for a total transaction of $82,559.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $486,509.73. This represents a 20.44 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 14,048 shares of company stock valued at $136,772 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Barings BDC during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in Barings BDC by 50.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Barings BDC during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barings BDC in the 2nd quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Barings BDC during the 2nd quarter valued at $99,000. 44.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.