Short Interest in Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Drops By 25.7%

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 270,700 shares, a drop of 25.7% from the February 28th total of 364,500 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 273,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance stock traded down $0.11 on Monday, reaching $16.61. 601,120 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 238,610. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a fifty-two week low of $15.29 and a fifty-two week high of $19.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.24.

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

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 90.81%.

Insider Activity at Bain Capital Specialty Finance

In other news, Director Clare Stack Richer bought 1,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.43 per share, with a total value 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 $342,319.05. This represents a 7.93 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bain Capital Specialty Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCSF. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the third quarter valued at $136,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 50,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 270,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,496,000 after acquiring an additional 14,223 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at about $199,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 136.2% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 24,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 13,892 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BCSF shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Company Profile

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.