Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Barings BDC, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $10.33 and last traded at $10.33, with a volume of 5330 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.24.

Barings BDC Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Barings BDC (NYSE:BBDC) last issued its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $70.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.48 million. Barings BDC had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 39.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Barings BDC, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barings BDC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.07%. Barings BDC’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barings BDC

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBDC. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Barings BDC in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,549,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Barings BDC by 148.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 740,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,257,000 after purchasing an additional 442,621 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 321,638 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Barings BDC by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 322,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after buying an additional 90,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Barings BDC during the 2nd quarter valued at $731,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.09% of the company’s stock.

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.