Short Interest in BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) Declines By 34.2%

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TCPC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a decrease of 34.2% from the December 15th total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 595,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jason Mehring bought 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.30 per share, for a total transaction of $41,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the president now owns 19,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,200.20. This represents a 29.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackRock TCP Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TCPC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital by 171.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 49,590 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 31,321 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock TCP Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $108,000. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the second quarter valued at $122,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital in the second quarter valued at $119,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock TCP Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000.

BlackRock TCP Capital Price Performance

Shares of BlackRock TCP Capital stock traded up $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $8.86. The company had a trading volume of 372,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,006. BlackRock TCP Capital has a 52 week low of $7.71 and a 52 week high of $11.77. The company has a market cap of $758.33 million, a PE ratio of -17.72 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 39.37 and a quick ratio of 39.37.

BlackRock TCP Capital (NASDAQ:TCPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The investment management company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.04). BlackRock TCP Capital had a negative net margin of 15.22% and a positive return on equity of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $70.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that BlackRock TCP Capital will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock TCP Capital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is a boost from BlackRock TCP Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.86%. BlackRock TCP Capital’s payout ratio is -271.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TCPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of BlackRock TCP Capital from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded BlackRock TCP Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.00.

About BlackRock TCP Capital

BlackRock TCP Capital Corp. is a business development company specializing in direct equity and debt investments in middle-market, small businesses, debt securities, senior secured loans, junior loans, originated loans, mezzanine, senior debt instruments, bonds, and secondary-market investments. It typically invests in communication services, public relations services, television, wireless telecommunication services, apparel, textile mills, restaurants, retailing, energy, oil and gas extraction, Patent owners and Lessors, Federal and Federally- Sponsored Credit agencies, insurance, hospital and healthcare centers, Biotechnology, engineering services, heavy electrical equipment, tax accounting, scientific and related consulting services, charter freight air transportation, Information technology consulting, application hosting services, software diagram and design, computer aided design, communication equipment, electronics manufacturing equipment, computer components, chemicals.