Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 467,700 shares, a decline of 23.6% from the April 30th total of 612,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 569,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Barings BDC news, President Matthew Freund purchased 3,522 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.07 per share, for a total transaction of $31,944.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president now owns 20,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at $181,418.14. This represents a 21.37% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Eric J. Lloyd purchased 34,375 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.12 per share, for a total transaction of $313,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBDC. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Barings BDC by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 74,839 shares of the company's stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 31,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 39,478 shares of the company's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Barings BDC by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Barings BDC by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 59,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the period. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Barings BDC from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Barings BDC from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Barings BDC from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $8.50 to $9.50 in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Barings BDC Stock Performance

BBDC stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.30. 883,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,237. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $980.30 million, a PE ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.73. Barings BDC has a 1-year low of $7.66 and a 1-year high of $10.85.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Barings BDC had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 38.54%. The company had revenue of $64.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Barings BDC will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.18%. Barings BDC's dividend payout ratio is currently 110.64%.

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.