Short Interest in Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Expands By 31.9%

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 747,600 shares, a growth of 31.9% from the February 28th total of 567,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 521,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barings BDC

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBDC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Barings BDC by 393.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Barings BDC during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Barings BDC in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Barings BDC in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Barings BDC during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. 44.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barings BDC Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBDC traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $9.50. The stock had a trading volume of 379,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,088. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.66. Barings BDC has a fifty-two week low of $8.95 and a fifty-two week high of $10.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.93 and a 200-day moving average of $9.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.01). Barings BDC had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 38.54%. The business had revenue of $70.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.35 million. Equities research analysts predict that Barings BDC will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Barings BDC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Barings BDC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.