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

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 573,800 shares, a decrease of 7.5% from the December 15th total of 620,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 426,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Barings BDC Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BBDC traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 302,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,004. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.74 and a 200-day moving average of $9.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.68. Barings BDC has a 12-month low of $8.67 and a 12-month high of $10.38.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Barings BDC had a net margin of 39.59% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The business had revenue of $70.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.48 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Barings BDC will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.72%. Barings BDC’s payout ratio is presently 96.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barings BDC

In other Barings BDC news, Director Stephen R. Byers bought 8,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.73 per share, for a total transaction of $82,559.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 50,001 shares in the company, valued at $486,509.73. The trade was a 20.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael James O’connor sold 29,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.70, for a total transaction of $285,412.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 14,048 shares of company stock worth $136,772 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings BDC

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Barings BDC by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Barings BDC by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 756,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 15,781 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 517,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Barings BDC by 393.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Barings BDC by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 322,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,136,000 after buying an additional 90,390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.09% of the company’s stock.

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.