Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Short Interest Down 17.6% in February

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 567,000 shares, a decrease of 17.6% from the February 13th total of 688,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 536,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Barings BDC Price Performance

Shares of BBDC stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $9.52. 511,475 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 437,176. Barings BDC has a 12-month low of $8.95 and a 12-month high of $10.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.01). Barings BDC had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 38.54%. The business had revenue of $70.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.35 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Barings BDC will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.92%. Barings BDC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Barings BDC

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 buying an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Barings BDC in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Barings BDC in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barings BDC in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Barings BDC during the fourth quarter valued at about $98,000. Institutional investors own 44.09% of the company’s stock.

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.