Short Interest in BARINGS BDC, INC. (NYSE:BBDC) Rises By 33.1%

BARINGS BDC, INC. (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 0.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 546,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

BARINGS BDC Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:BBDC traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.05. The stock had a trading volume of 239,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,061. The stock has a market cap of $953.43 million, a P/E ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $8.87 and its 200 day moving average is $9.41. 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 fifty-two week low of $7.66 and a fifty-two week high of $10.85.

BARINGS BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 35.21% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $64.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BARINGS BDC will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BARINGS BDC Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at BARINGS BDC

In other news, CFO Elizabeth A. Murray purchased 3,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.84 per share, with a total value of $30,056.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,421.08. The trade was a 15.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Byers purchased 8,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.89 per share, for a total transaction of $77,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 59,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,035.26. This represents a 17.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 49,997 shares of company stock worth $452,844 in the last 90 days. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBDC. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in BARINGS BDC by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 19,133 shares of the company's stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in BARINGS BDC during the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in BARINGS BDC by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 17,861 shares of the company's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in BARINGS BDC by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 39,478 shares of the company's stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in BARINGS BDC during the fourth quarter worth about $8,891,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BARINGS BDC from $10.50 to $9.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised BARINGS BDC from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $8.50 to $9.50 in a report on Wednesday, May 28th.

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.

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