BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) Short Interest Up 57.4% in March

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, an increase of 57.4% from the February 28th total of 1,010,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 647,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on BlackRock TCP Capital from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised BlackRock TCP Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on BlackRock TCP Capital from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock TCP Capital has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.67.

BlackRock TCP Capital Stock Down 0.7 %

TCPC stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $7.99. The stock had a trading volume of 349,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 619,607. BlackRock TCP Capital has a 1-year low of $7.67 and a 1-year high of $11.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.66 and a 200 day moving average of $8.64. The company has a current ratio of 39.37, a quick ratio of 39.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $679.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.98 and a beta of 1.55.

BlackRock TCP Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.52%. BlackRock TCP Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently -133.33%.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock TCP Capital news, COO Patrick Wolfe purchased 6,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.12 per share, with a total value of $49,532.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 8,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,984.36. The trade was a 320.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philip M. Tseng acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.74 per share, for a total transaction of $77,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,663.38. The trade was a 34.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 18,500 shares of company stock worth $146,444 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CF Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital during the 4th quarter worth $243,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in BlackRock TCP Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $177,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital by 291.5% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 142,714 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 106,257 shares during the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $276,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 34,000 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 20,200 shares during the last quarter.

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.