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

Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,080,960 shares, a growth of 51.2% from the January 29th total of 714,892 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 888,532 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 888,532 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BBDC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Barings Bdc from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Barings Bdc from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Barings Bdc from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Barings Bdc currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings Bdc

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Barings Bdc in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,000. VARCOV Co. bought a new stake in Barings Bdc during the 4th quarter valued at $317,000. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Barings Bdc by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 806,071 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,400,000 after buying an additional 203,597 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Barings Bdc by 211.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 49,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barings Bdc in the fourth quarter valued at about $523,000. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Barings Bdc Trading Down 3.9%

BBDC stock opened at $8.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $883.44 million, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a current ratio of 0.10. Barings Bdc has a one year low of $7.66 and a one year high of $10.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.07.

Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $65.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.66 million. Barings Bdc had a net margin of 36.50% and a return on equity of 10.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Barings Bdc will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barings Bdc Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. Barings Bdc’s payout ratio is currently 107.22%.

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).