Short Interest in Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Decreases By 19.2%

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 218,700 shares, a drop of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 270,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 327,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BCSF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Clare Stack Richer purchased 1,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.43 per share, for a total transaction of $25,137.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,319.05. This trade represents a 7.93 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the fourth quarter worth $151,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $197,000.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Stock Performance

Bain Capital Specialty Finance stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $14.46. 219,100 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,125. The stock has a market cap of $934.33 million, a P/E ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.65 and its 200 day moving average is $17.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a 52-week low of $13.20 and a 52-week high of $19.21.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $73.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.50 million. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a net margin of 43.62% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Analysts predict that Bain Capital Specialty Finance will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.81%.

About Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc is business development company specializing in direct loans to middle-market companies. The fund seeks to invest in senior investments with a first or second lien on collateral, senior first lien, stretch senior, senior second lien, unitranche, mezzanine debt, junior securities, other junior investments, and secondary purchases of assets or portfolios that primarily consist of middle-market corporate debt.