Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCAP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Crescent Capital BDC, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCAP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 104,500 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the December 31st total of 87,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 102,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CCAP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Crescent Capital BDC from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Crescent Capital BDC from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crescent Capital BDC has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.33.

Crescent Capital BDC Price Performance

Shares of CCAP traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.51. 103,625 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 82,239. The firm has a market cap of $723.04 million, a P/E ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.81. Crescent Capital BDC has a one year low of $15.91 and a one year high of $20.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.40 and a 200-day moving average of $18.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Crescent Capital BDC (NASDAQ:CCAP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.07. Crescent Capital BDC had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 47.06%. The company had revenue of $51.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $48.76 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crescent Capital BDC will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crescent Capital BDC Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Crescent Capital BDC’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Crescent Capital BDC’s dividend payout ratio is 65.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCAP. Sun Life Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Crescent Capital BDC by 20.7% in the third quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. now owns 2,226,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,187,000 after buying an additional 382,542 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crescent Capital BDC by 31.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 268,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,035,000 after purchasing an additional 64,902 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crescent Capital BDC during the third quarter valued at $4,878,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Crescent Capital BDC by 35.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 256,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,726,000 after buying an additional 66,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crescent Capital BDC by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 141,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.46% of the company’s stock.

About Crescent Capital BDC

Crescent Capital BDC, Inc is as a business development company private equity / buyouts and loan fund. It specializes in directly investing. It specializes in middle market. The fund seeks to invest in United States.