Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Short Interest Down 7.5% in December

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 573,800 shares, a decline of 7.5% from the December 15th total of 620,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 426,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Barings BDC Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BBDC traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.71. The company had a trading volume of 302,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,004. Barings BDC has a 12-month low of $8.67 and a 12-month high of $10.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.74 and its 200 day moving average is $9.83. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $70.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barings BDC will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barings BDC Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.72%. Barings BDC’s payout ratio is currently 96.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barings BDC

In related news, Director Stephen R. Byers purchased 8,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.73 per share, for a total transaction of $82,559.05. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $486,509.73. This represents a 20.44 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael James O’connor sold 29,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.70, for a total value of $285,412.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 14,048 shares of company stock valued at $136,772. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Barings BDC

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Barings BDC by 393.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Barings BDC in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in Barings BDC by 50.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new position in shares of Barings BDC during the 2nd quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barings BDC during the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.