Short Interest in Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Rises By 29.3%

Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 1,397,966 shares, a growth of 29.3% from the February 12th total of 1,080,960 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,828 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,828 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings Bdc

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Barings Bdc during the fourth quarter worth approximately $317,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Barings Bdc in the fourth quarter valued at $304,000. VARCOV Co. bought a new position in shares of Barings Bdc in the fourth quarter valued at $317,000. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 203,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Barings Bdc by 211.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 49,456 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 44.09% of the company’s stock.

Barings Bdc Price Performance

NYSE BBDC traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $8.09. 734,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 952,431. Barings Bdc has a 12 month low of $7.66 and a 12 month high of $9.92. The company has a market cap of $846.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Barings Bdc Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Barings Bdc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Barings Bdc from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barings Bdc presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.67.

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).