Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) Short Interest Down 20.8% in December

Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 399,940 shares, a decline of 20.8% from the December 15th total of 505,110 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 534,713 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 534,713 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Price Performance

NYSE BCSF traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $13.77. 284,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 421,162. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Bain Capital Specialty Finance has a 12-month low of $13.20 and a 12-month high of $19.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.54. The company has a market capitalization of $893.25 million, a P/E ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.60.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance (NYSE:BCSF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Bain Capital Specialty Finance had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 33.45%.The firm had revenue of $67.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.53 million. As a group, analysts predict that Bain Capital Specialty Finance will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCSF. Wells Fargo & Company set a $14.00 target price on Bain Capital Specialty Finance and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, 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 objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

About Bain Capital Specialty Finance

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.