Golub Capital BDC, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBDC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Golub Capital BDC, Inc. (NASDAQ:GBDC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,850,000 shares, an increase of 9.1% from the March 15th total of 3,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 887,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GBDC. StockNews.com cut shares of Golub Capital BDC from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. Bank of America upgraded Golub Capital BDC from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Golub Capital BDC from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Golub Capital BDC from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Golub Capital BDC currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.40.

Golub Capital BDC Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GBDC traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 214,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 861,442. Golub Capital BDC has a 12 month low of $12.77 and a 12 month high of $16.83. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 3.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.02 and a 200-day moving average of $15.29.

Golub Capital BDC (NASDAQ:GBDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $164.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.93 million. Golub Capital BDC had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 48.94%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Golub Capital BDC will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Golub Capital BDC Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Golub Capital BDC’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Golub Capital BDC by 4,797.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,740,391 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,855 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Golub Capital BDC by 304.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,083,931 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $27,425,000 after buying an additional 1,568,572 shares during the period. Allen Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Golub Capital BDC by 114.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 1,371,018 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $20,113,000 after purchasing an additional 731,959 shares during the last quarter. Ares Management LLC increased its position in shares of Golub Capital BDC by 23.3% during the first quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 2,628,419 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $39,978,000 after acquiring an additional 497,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Golub Capital BDC during the first quarter worth $5,509,000. 42.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Golub Capital BDC

Golub Capital BDC, Inc (GBDC) is a business development company and operates as an externally managed closed-end non-diversified management investment company. It invests in debt and minority equity investments in middle-market companies that are, in most cases, sponsored by private equity investors.