Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Short Interest Up 5.2% in December

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 620,300 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 589,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 420,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Barings BDC Price Performance

BBDC opened at $9.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a current ratio of 0.11. Barings BDC has a 1-year low of $8.55 and a 1-year high of $10.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.78 and a 200-day moving average of $9.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. Barings BDC’s payout ratio is 96.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael James O’connor sold 29,424 shares of Barings BDC stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.70, for a total transaction of $285,412.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen R. Byers acquired 8,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.73 per share, with a total value of $82,559.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $486,509.73. This represents a 20.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 14,048 shares of company stock worth $136,772 over the last three months. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barings BDC

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Barings BDC by 393.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Barings BDC in the third quarter worth about $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in Barings BDC by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barings BDC during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barings BDC in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $86,000. 44.09% of the stock is 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.