Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) Shares Gap Down to $10.08

Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.08, but opened at $9.78. Barings BDC shares last traded at $9.76, with a volume of 109,744 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on BBDC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Barings BDC from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Barings BDC from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Barings BDC Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $9.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 38.32% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $74.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Barings BDC, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.64%. Barings BDC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings BDC

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Barings BDC by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,138,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,808,000 after acquiring an additional 321,638 shares during the last quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Barings BDC by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 1,371,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,767,000 after purchasing an additional 11,283 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Barings BDC by 2.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 663,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,174,000 after purchasing an additional 18,826 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Barings BDC by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 587,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,465,000 after purchasing an additional 74,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Barings BDC by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 509,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,957,000 after purchasing an additional 7,764 shares during the period. 44.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.