Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Short Interest Down 25.7% in March

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 270,700 shares, a drop of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 364,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 273,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Stock Up 0.6 %

BCSF traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.70. The stock had a trading volume of 351,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,596. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.24. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a one year low of $15.29 and a one year high of $19.21.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a net margin of 43.62% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $73.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.50 million. As a group, analysts expect that Bain Capital Specialty Finance will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s payout ratio is 90.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BCSF. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Clare Stack Richer acquired 1,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.43 per share, for a total transaction of $25,137.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $342,319.05. This represents a 7.93 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the third quarter worth approximately $136,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the fourth quarter valued at $151,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter.

About Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc is business development company specializing in direct loans to middle-market companies. The fund seeks to invest in senior investments with a first or second lien on collateral, senior first lien, stretch senior, senior second lien, unitranche, mezzanine debt, junior securities, other junior investments, and secondary purchases of assets or portfolios that primarily consist of middle-market corporate debt.