Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (NYSE:BCSF) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,476 shares of the company’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Bain Capital Specialty Finance were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $136,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Bain Capital Specialty Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $151,000. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance in the third quarter worth $199,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Bain Capital Specialty Finance by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 15,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BCSF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Bain Capital Specialty Finance from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BCSF opened at $16.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 1.10. Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.29 and a fifty-two week high of $19.21. 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 (NYSE:BCSF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bain Capital Specialty Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid 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 0.72%. Bain Capital Specialty Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bain Capital Specialty Finance news, Director Clare Stack Richer bought 1,530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.43 per share, for a total transaction of $25,137.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $342,319.05. The trade was a 7.93 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.