Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• BCSF fell to a new 52-week low of $10.82, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, signaling continued share-price weakness.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: the stock has an average “Reduce” rating and a $12.60 price target, while one analyst downgraded it to “Strong Sell.”
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.44, beating estimates, and maintains a high-yield quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, equivalent to a 15.5% annualized yield; however, its payout ratio is elevated at 169.7%.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $10.82 and last traded at $10.8450, with a volume of 477543 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $10.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BCSF shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 price objective on Bain Capital Specialty Finance in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Bain Capital Specialty Finance from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $15.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Capital One Financial set a $12.50 target price on Bain Capital Specialty Finance in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Loop Capital set a $12.50 price target on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $12.60.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 7.20 and a current ratio of 7.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $703.52 million, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.51.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $47.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.44 million. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 24.22%. Research analysts forecast that Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Bain Capital Specialty Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BCSF. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,566 shares of the company's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 87,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 54,238 shares of the company's stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 161,044 shares of the company's stock worth $1,997,000 after acquiring an additional 4,707 shares during the period.

About Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc NYSE: BCSF is a business development company that invests primarily in privately originated senior secured debt of middle-market companies. The company seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation through investments in businesses across a range of industries.

BCSF's portfolio generally includes first-lien and second-lien loans, unitranche debt and other credit investments. It may also make equity investments, including warrants and preferred or common equity, in connection with its lending activities.

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