Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Short Interest Up 122.6% in February

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 788,192 shares, an increase of 122.6% from the January 29th total of 354,013 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 671,356 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 671,356 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BCSF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $14.00 target price on Bain Capital Specialty Finance and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:BCSF traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.77. The company had a trading volume of 101,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,296. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a fifty-two week low of $12.43 and a fifty-two week high of $19.21. The firm has a market cap of $828.25 million, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.17.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 33.45%.The company had revenue of $68.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.48 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Bain Capital Specialty Finance will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.2%. This is a boost from Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.67%.

Institutional Trading of Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 140,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 28.0% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 446,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,722,000 after acquiring an additional 97,714 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the second quarter worth about $350,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $793,000. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 553,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,329,000 after purchasing an additional 191,776 shares during the period.

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.