Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 136,541 Shares of Barings Bdc, Inc. $BBDC

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Barings Bdc, Inc. (NYSE:BBDC) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,479,942 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 136,541 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Barings Bdc were worth $21,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Barings Bdc by 66.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 486,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,258,000 after purchasing an additional 194,725 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barings Bdc by 36.3% in the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,141,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,764,000 after purchasing an additional 570,637 shares during the last quarter. Ares Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Barings Bdc by 5.3% in the second quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 3,797,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,706,000 after buying an additional 190,016 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Barings Bdc by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 826,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,556,000 after buying an additional 126,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Barings Bdc during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,797,000. 44.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Barings Bdc from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barings Bdc currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.67.

Barings Bdc Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE BBDC traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $8.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 88,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,104. The firm has a market cap of $848.67 million, a P/E ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.60. Barings Bdc, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.66 and a 52-week high of $9.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Barings Bdc (NYSE:BBDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Barings Bdc had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 36.50%.The company had revenue of $65.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Barings Bdc, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barings Bdc Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.8%. Barings Bdc’s dividend payout ratio is 107.22%.

Barings Bdc Company Profile

Barings BDC Inc (NYSE: BBDC) is a closed-end, externally managed business development company that provides flexible financing solutions to middle-market companies. As an investment vehicle organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, BBDC seeks to generate both current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured loans, second lien loans, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The company targets established businesses across a diverse range of industries, including healthcare, industrials, consumer products and business services.

The company is sponsored and managed by Barings LLC, a global investment manager and subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual).