Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of 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 daily volume of 426,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Barings BDC Stock Performance

Barings BDC stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.71. The stock had a trading volume of 302,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,004. Barings BDC has a 52-week low of $8.67 and a 52-week high of $10.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $70.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.48 million. Barings BDC had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 39.59%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Barings BDC will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Barings BDC

In related news, Director Stephen R. Byers bought 8,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.73 per share, with a total value of $82,559.05. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 50,001 shares in the company, valued at $486,509.73. This trade represents a 20.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $285,412.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 14,048 shares of company stock worth $136,772 in the last three months. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings BDC

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBDC. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 6.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,267,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,134,000 after buying an additional 129,410 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Barings BDC in the 3rd quarter worth $10,549,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Barings BDC by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 756,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 15,781 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 517,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Barings BDC by 8.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 350,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after purchasing an additional 26,420 shares in the last quarter. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Barings BDC

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.