Short Interest in Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Declines By 37.2%

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 494,648 shares, a decrease of 37.2% from the February 12th total of 788,192 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 816,823 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 816,823 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on BCSF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.00.

Institutional Trading of Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,607,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,356,000 after buying an additional 114,883 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 20.9% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,452,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,696,000 after buying an additional 250,844 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,373,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,104,000 after acquiring an additional 67,132 shares during the period. Melia Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Melia Wealth LLC now owns 1,134,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,777,000 after acquiring an additional 10,982 shares during the period. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 784,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,907,000 after acquiring an additional 136,613 shares in the last quarter.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Stock Performance

BCSF traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $12.36. The company had a trading volume of 963,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,921. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a fifty-two week low of $12.28 and a fifty-two week high of $17.04. The stock has a market cap of $801.47 million, a P/E ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.30 and its 200 day moving average is $13.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a net margin of 36.14% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The firm had revenue of $68.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.48 million. As a group, analysts predict that Bain Capital Specialty Finance will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.6%. This is an increase from Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 109.80%.

About Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE: BCSF) is a closed-end interval fund organized as a specialty finance company. Since commencing operations in March 2017, the company has focused on originating and acquiring debt and equity investments in middle-market companies. It is structured to offer investors access to private credit and special situations strategies that are typically unavailable through traditional public debt markets.

The firm’s core business activities include direct lending to U.S.