Short Interest in Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) Increases By 5.2%

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 620,300 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 589,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 420,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Barings BDC Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:BBDC traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $9.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 373,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,613. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Barings BDC has a 12-month low of $8.55 and a 12-month high of $10.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.83.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.01). Barings BDC had a net margin of 39.59% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The company had revenue of $70.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.48 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Barings BDC will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings BDC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.87%. Barings BDC's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael James O'connor sold 29,424 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.70, for a total transaction of $285,412.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen R. Byers bought 8,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.73 per share, for a total transaction of $82,559.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 50,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $486,509.73. The trade was a 20.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 14,048 shares of company stock worth $136,772. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings BDC

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBDC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Barings BDC by 393.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,582 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Barings BDC by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 322,954 shares of the company's stock worth $3,136,000 after buying an additional 90,390 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Barings BDC in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barings BDC in the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Barings BDC in the third quarter valued at $307,000. 44.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.