BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) Short Interest Down 34.2% in January

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a decline of 34.2% from the December 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 595,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TCPC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BlackRock TCP Capital from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded BlackRock TCP Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.00.

BlackRock TCP Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TCPC traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.21. 410,494 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,090. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.97 and a 200 day moving average of $8.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $788.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.42 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 39.37, a quick ratio of 39.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. BlackRock TCP Capital has a twelve month low of $7.71 and a twelve month high of $11.60.

BlackRock TCP Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The investment management company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $70.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.13 million. BlackRock TCP Capital had a positive return on equity of 14.16% and a negative net margin of 15.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock TCP Capital will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock TCP Capital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 19.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from BlackRock TCP Capital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. BlackRock TCP Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -271.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock TCP Capital

In related news, President Jason Mehring bought 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.30 per share, for a total transaction of $41,850.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 19,914 shares in the company, valued at $185,200.20. This represents a 29.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock TCP Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TCPC. Columbus Macro LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital during the fourth quarter worth $4,177,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,107,130 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $17,257,000 after buying an additional 143,667 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $608,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $526,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock TCP Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $431,000.

About BlackRock TCP Capital

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. is a business development company specializing in direct equity and debt investments in middle-market, small businesses, debt securities, senior secured loans, junior loans, originated loans, mezzanine, senior debt instruments, bonds, and secondary-market investments. It typically invests in communication services, public relations services, television, wireless telecommunication services, apparel, textile mills, restaurants, retailing, energy, oil and gas extraction, Patent owners and Lessors, Federal and Federally- Sponsored Credit agencies, insurance, hospital and healthcare centers, Biotechnology, engineering services, heavy electrical equipment, tax accounting, scientific and related consulting services, charter freight air transportation, Information technology consulting, application hosting services, software diagram and design, computer aided design, communication equipment, electronics manufacturing equipment, computer components, chemicals.