Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $9.50 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $8.50. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 2.04% from the stock's previous close.

BBDC has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America cut their price target on Barings BDC from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Barings BDC from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Barings BDC Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of BBDC stock traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $9.31. The stock had a trading volume of 481,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 457,926. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $981.36 million, a P/E ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.73. Barings BDC has a 1 year low of $7.66 and a 1 year high of $10.85. The company's 50 day moving average price is $8.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.51.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $64.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $67.78 million. Barings BDC had a net margin of 38.54% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Barings BDC's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Barings BDC will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Barings BDC

In other news, CEO Eric J. Lloyd bought 34,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.12 per share, with a total value of $313,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,569 shares in the company, valued at $670,949.28. This trade represents a 87.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Matthew Freund bought 3,522 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.07 per share, with a total value of $31,944.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 20,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,418.14. This trade represents a 21.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Barings BDC

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Barings BDC during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,542,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Barings BDC in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,891,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Barings BDC by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 705,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,753,000 after buying an additional 324,945 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Barings BDC during the 1st quarter valued at $2,878,000. Finally, Icon Advisers Inc. Co. acquired a new stake in Barings BDC during the 4th quarter valued at $2,577,000. 44.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.