Short Interest in Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. (NYSE:GSBD) Increases By 30.3%

Key Points

• Short interest increased 30.3% to 6,131,889 shares as of March 31 (about 5.5% of the float), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 4.5 days based on average daily volume.
• Generous dividend but high payout: the company declared a $0.32 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.28) representing a 13.1% yield and a payout ratio of 123.08%, indicating the dividend may be unsustainably high relative to earnings.
• Mixed market signals — insider buy amid analyst caution: a director purchased 50,000 shares at $9.02 (increasing their stake ~346%), while analysts have cut targets and the consensus rating per MarketBeat is "Reduce" with an average price target of $9.50.

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. (NYSE:GSBD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,131,889 shares, a growth of 30.3% from the March 15th total of 4,705,512 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,377,280 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Goldman Sachs BDC Stock Up 2.5%

Goldman Sachs BDC stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,415,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,117. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Goldman Sachs BDC has a 12 month low of $8.66 and a 12 month high of $12.03. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.57.

Goldman Sachs BDC (NYSE:GSBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $38.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.18 million. Goldman Sachs BDC had a net margin of 32.62% and a return on equity of 12.23%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Goldman Sachs BDC will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Goldman Sachs BDC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.1%. Goldman Sachs BDC's payout ratio is 123.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GSBD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Goldman Sachs BDC from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Goldman Sachs BDC from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Goldman Sachs BDC from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Goldman Sachs BDC from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $9.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carlos E. Evans bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $9.02 per share, with a total value of $451,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 64,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,302.92. This trade represents a 346.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GSBD. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Goldman Sachs BDC by 3.2% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,889,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,382,000 after buying an additional 89,009 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Goldman Sachs BDC by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,607,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,915,000 after buying an additional 247,163 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Goldman Sachs BDC by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,490,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,835,000 after buying an additional 426,859 shares during the last quarter. Ares Management LLC lifted its holdings in Goldman Sachs BDC by 77.0% during the fourth quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 1,413,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,113,000 after acquiring an additional 614,637 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Goldman Sachs BDC by 412.8% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,103,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,419,000 after acquiring an additional 888,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.72% of the company's stock.

About Goldman Sachs BDC

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc NYSE: GSBD is an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company organized as a business development company (BDC) under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940. The company's primary objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments in U.S. middle-market companies. It principally invests in senior secured loans, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and, to a lesser extent, common equity, focusing on sponsor-backed transactions and special-situation financings.

The fund is advised by affiliates of Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Private Credit Group, leveraging the firm's global research capabilities and risk management infrastructure.

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