Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) to Overweight

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

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BBDC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Barings BDC from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

Barings BDC Trading Up 0.1%

BBDC traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.31. The stock had a trading volume of 481,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,603. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $8.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $981.36 million, a price-to-earnings 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.03). Barings BDC had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 38.54%. The business had revenue of $64.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Barings BDC will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Barings BDC

In other Barings BDC news, President Matthew Freund acquired 3,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.07 per share, for a total transaction of $31,944.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president now directly owns 20,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $181,418.14. This trade represents a 21.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 acquired 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 owns 73,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $670,949.28. This represents a 87.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings BDC

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Barings BDC by 393.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,582 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Barings BDC during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barings BDC during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barings BDC in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barings BDC in the fourth quarter valued at $80,000. Institutional investors own 44.09% of the company's stock.

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.