BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) Short Interest Up 42.7% in December

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,870,000 shares, a growth of 42.7% from the November 30th total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 595,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on TCPC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on BlackRock TCP Capital from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BlackRock TCP Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jason Mehring purchased 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $9.30 per share, with a total value of $41,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president now owns 19,914 shares in the company, valued at $185,200.20. This trade represents a 29.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TCPC. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital by 729.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 7,254 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 6,379 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000.

BlackRock TCP Capital Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ TCPC traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.56. 539,786 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,648. The company’s 50-day moving average is $8.79 and its 200-day moving average is $9.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 39.37 and a current ratio of 39.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $732.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 1.50. BlackRock TCP Capital has a 52-week low of $7.71 and a 52-week high of $11.99.

BlackRock TCP Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The investment management company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $70.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.13 million. BlackRock TCP Capital had a positive return on equity of 14.16% and a negative net margin of 15.22%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Analysts expect that BlackRock TCP Capital will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock TCP Capital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This is a positive change from BlackRock TCP Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 20.56%. BlackRock TCP Capital’s payout ratio is presently -272.00%.

About BlackRock TCP Capital

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. is a business development company specializing in direct equity and debt investments in middle-market, small businesses, debt securities, senior secured loans, junior loans, originated loans, mezzanine, senior debt instruments, bonds, and secondary-market investments. It typically invests in communication services, public relations services, television, wireless telecommunication services, apparel, textile mills, restaurants, retailing, energy, oil and gas extraction, Patent owners and Lessors, Federal and Federally- Sponsored Credit agencies, insurance, hospital and healthcare centers, Biotechnology, engineering services, heavy electrical equipment, tax accounting, scientific and related consulting services, charter freight air transportation, Information technology consulting, application hosting services, software diagram and design, computer aided design, communication equipment, electronics manufacturing equipment, computer components, chemicals.