Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 622,300 shares, a growth of 33.1% from the May 15th total of 467,700 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 546,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Barings Bdc Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:BBDC traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.05. 354,528 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,059. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Barings Bdc has a 12 month low of $7.66 and a 12 month high of $10.85. The company has a market cap of $953.43 million, a PE ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.40.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.03). Barings Bdc had a net margin of 35.21% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $64.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Barings Bdc's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barings Bdc will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings Bdc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.50%. Barings Bdc's payout ratio is currently 110.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth A. Murray acquired 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.84 per share, with a total value of $30,056.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,387 shares in the company, valued at $224,421.08. The trade was a 15.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Byers acquired 8,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.89 per share, with a total value of $77,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 59,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $531,035.26. This trade represents a 17.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 49,997 shares of company stock valued at $452,844. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Barings Bdc by 0.4% during the first quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,096,444 shares of the company's stock worth $29,540,000 after purchasing an additional 12,208 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barings Bdc by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,959,930 shares of the company's stock worth $18,698,000 after acquiring an additional 231,356 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Barings Bdc by 1.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,105,716 shares of the company's stock worth $10,549,000 after acquiring an additional 13,839 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Barings Bdc by 0.6% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,073,140 shares of the company's stock worth $10,238,000 after acquiring an additional 6,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Barings Bdc in the fourth quarter valued at $8,891,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.09% of the company's stock.

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.