Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Short Interest Update

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 801,400 shares, a decrease of 6.9% from the September 15th total of 860,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 389,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Barings BDC from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Institutional Trading of Barings BDC

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Barings BDC by 273.4% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 297,938 shares of the company's stock worth $2,899,000 after purchasing an additional 218,146 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Barings BDC by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 296,548 shares of the company's stock worth $2,758,000 after buying an additional 110,037 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Barings BDC in the 4th quarter valued at about $815,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Barings BDC by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,138,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,808,000 after acquiring an additional 321,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Barings BDC during the second quarter worth about $731,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.09% of the company's stock.

Barings BDC Stock Performance

Shares of BBDC stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.78. 319,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 433,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.75. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.67. Barings BDC has a 1 year low of $8.55 and a 1 year high of $10.27.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.10. Barings BDC had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 38.32%. The firm had revenue of $74.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Barings BDC will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Barings BDC's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.55%.

Barings BDC Company Profile

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.