Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Short Interest Up 52.1% in March

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, an increase of 52.1% from the February 29th total of 867,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 530,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Barings BDC from $8.50 to $8.75 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Barings BDC in the second quarter worth $28,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Barings BDC during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Lake Point Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 3,008.0% during the first quarter. Lake Point Wealth Management now owns 3,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of Barings BDC by 140.9% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Barings BDC in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 44.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Barings BDC Stock Up 1.3 %

BBDC traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.30. 568,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,313. The company has a market cap of $986.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. Barings BDC has a one year low of $6.96 and a one year high of $9.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $9.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.99.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. Barings BDC had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 44.26%. The business had revenue of $75.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Barings BDC will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Barings BDC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.39%.

About Barings BDC

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.