Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Short Interest Update

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 573,800 shares, a decline 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 presently 1.3 days.

Barings BDC Price Performance

Shares of BBDC traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $9.71. The stock had a trading volume of 302,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,004. The business has a fifty day moving average of $9.74 and a 200 day moving average of $9.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $70.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.48 million. Barings BDC had a net margin of 39.59% and a return on equity of 11.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Barings BDC will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Barings BDC

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings BDC

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBDC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Barings BDC by 393.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Barings BDC in the third quarter valued at $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 50.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Barings BDC in the second quarter worth $99,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Barings BDC during the third quarter valued at $99,000. 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.