Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Short Interest Down 16.9% in January

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 332,530 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the December 31st total of 399,940 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 364,502 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 364,502 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bain Capital Specialty Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCSF. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its holdings in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 38.8% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 352.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $14.00 target price on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Bain Capital Specialty Finance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Bain Capital Specialty Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of BCSF traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 599,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,440. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.89 and its 200-day moving average is $14.37. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a 52-week low of $12.49 and a 52-week high of $19.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $818.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.61.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $67.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.53 million. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a net margin of 33.45% and a return on equity of 11.03%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bain Capital Specialty Finance will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s payout ratio is presently 116.67%.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Company Profile

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE: BCSF) is a closed-end interval fund organized as a specialty finance company. Since commencing operations in March 2017, the company has focused on originating and acquiring debt and equity investments in middle-market companies. It is structured to offer investors access to private credit and special situations strategies that are typically unavailable through traditional public debt markets.

The firm’s core business activities include direct lending to U.S.