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

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 589,400 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the November 15th total of 558,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 380,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Barings BDC Stock Performance

NYSE BBDC opened at $9.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 0.68. Barings BDC has a twelve month low of $8.55 and a twelve month high of $10.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $70.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.48 million. Barings BDC had a net margin of 39.59% and a return on equity of 11.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Barings BDC will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Barings BDC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.96%. Barings BDC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.30%.

Insider Activity at Barings BDC

In other news, insider Michael James O’connor sold 29,424 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen R. Byers acquired 8,485 shares of Barings BDC stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.73 per share, for a total transaction of $82,559.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,001 shares in the company, valued at $486,509.73. The trade was a 20.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 14,048 shares of company stock valued at $136,772 over the last ninety days. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barings BDC

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Barings BDC in the 2nd quarter valued at about $731,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 13,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Barings BDC by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS increased its holdings in Barings BDC by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 36,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Barings BDC by 41.9% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 28,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 8,565 shares during the last quarter. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.