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

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) experienced a notable increase in short interest during December. As of December 15th, the total short interest was 620,300 shares, marking a rise of 5.2% compared to 589,400 shares recorded on November 30th. Considering the average daily trading volume of 420,500 shares, the current short-interest ratio stands at 1.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Barings BDC

In related developments, insider Michael James O’Connor sold 29,424 shares of the company on December 12th, netting $285,412.80 at an average price of $9.70 per share. This transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Meanwhile, on December 13th, Director Stephen R. Byers purchased 8,485 shares at an average price of $9.73, resulting in a total investment of $82,559.05. Following this acquisition, Byers now holds a total of 50,001 shares valued at approximately $486,509.73, reflecting a 20.44% increase in his holdings. Insiders have bought a total of 14,048 shares in the last three months, valued at $136,772. Collectively, insiders own 0.45% of Barings BDC's stock.

Institutional Trading of Barings BDC

In recent trading activity, institutional investors and hedge funds have altered their positions in Barings BDC. Notably, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake by an impressive 393.7% during the third quarter, now owning 2,582 shares valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,059 shares. Additionally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. has established a new position valued at around $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC also raised its stake by 50.0%, owning 3,300 shares valued at $32,000 after acquiring another 1,100 shares. Other institutions, such as Asset Dedication LLC and Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC, have also made new investments in Barings BDC, with ownership by institutional investors now at 44.09%.

Barings BDC Stock Performance

On Wednesday, Barings BDC's stock opened at $9.57. The company's stock has a fifty-day moving average of $9.79 and a two-hundred-day moving average of $9.84. With a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, Barings BDC has a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.68. Over the past year, the stock has seen a low of $8.55 and a high of $10.38. Moreover, Barings BDC's debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.29, and it has a current ratio and quick ratio of 0.11.

On November 6th, Barings BDC reported its earnings results, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $0.29 for the quarter. This was slightly below analysts' expectations of $0.30 per share. The company reported revenues of $70.85 million, which exceeded projected estimates of $70.48 million. The net margin was 39.59%, with a return on equity of 11.24%. In comparison, the previous year saw an EPS of $0.31. Analysts anticipate Barings BDC will achieve an EPS of 1.24 for the current year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

In addition, Barings BDC recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was disbursed on December 11th. Stockholders who were on record as of December 4th received a dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was also December 4th. This dividend equates to an annualized amount of $1.04, resulting in a dividend yield of 10.87%. The company's payout ratio is 96.30%.

Barings BDC Company Profile

Barings BDC, Inc. is a publicly traded investment company that operates as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The firm primarily focuses on investing in senior secured loans, first lien debt, unitranche, second lien debt, subordinated debt, equity co-investments, and senior secured private debt in private middle-market companies across multiple sectors.

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