Short Interest in Blue Owl Capital Co. (NYSE:OBDC) Grows By 54.5%

Blue Owl Capital Co. (NYSE:OBDC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,160,000 shares, a growth of 54.5% from the February 28th total of 3,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Blue Owl Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Blue Owl Capital stock opened at $14.67 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.03. Blue Owl Capital has a one year low of $13.98 and a one year high of $16.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.85.

Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OBDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. Blue Owl Capital had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 37.26%. The company had revenue of $394.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.24 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blue Owl Capital will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blue Owl Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Blue Owl Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OBDC shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blue Owl Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Blue Owl Capital from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blue Owl Capital from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Blue Owl Capital in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Chris Temple acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.80 per share, for a total transaction of $222,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 51,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,800. The trade was a 41.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blue Owl Capital

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Blue Owl Capital by 192.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Blue Owl Capital by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Blue Owl Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Blue Owl Capital during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Blue Owl Capital by 144.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.83% of the company’s stock.

About Blue Owl Capital

Blue Owl Capital Corporation is a business development company. It specializes in direct and fund of fund investments. The fund makes investments in senior secured, direct lending or unsecured loans, subordinated loans or mezzanine loans and also considers equity-related securities including warrants and preferred stocks also pursues preferred equity investments, first lien, unitranche, and second lien term loans and common equity investments.