Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

BBDC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Barings Bdc from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Lucid Cap Mkts raised shares of Barings Bdc to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barings Bdc has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.50.

Barings Bdc Stock Performance

Shares of Barings Bdc stock opened at $8.10 on Tuesday. Barings Bdc has a one year low of $7.96 and a one year high of $9.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $847.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The business had revenue of $54.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.54 million. Barings Bdc had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 32.45%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Barings Bdc will post 1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barings Bdc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.8%. Barings Bdc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Mcdonnell acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.27 per share, for a total transaction of $82,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 26,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,020. The trade was a 62.50% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Barings Bdc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Barings Bdc by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,765,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,568,000 after buying an additional 481,172 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Barings Bdc by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,479,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,725,000 after buying an additional 136,541 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Barings Bdc by 36.3% in the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,141,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,764,000 after buying an additional 570,637 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Barings Bdc by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,493,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,713,000 after purchasing an additional 285,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Barings Bdc by 3.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,160,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,169,000 after purchasing an additional 40,771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.09% of the company’s stock.

About Barings Bdc

Barings BDC Inc (NYSE: BBDC) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible financing solutions to middle-market companies. As an investment vehicle organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, BBDC seeks to generate both current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien loans, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The company targets established businesses across a diverse range of industries, including healthcare, industrials, consumer products and business services.

The company is sponsored and managed by Barings LLC, a global investment manager and subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual).