Blue Owl Capital Corporation (NYSE:OBDC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Blue Owl Capital Corporation (NYSE:OBDC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 18,489,414 shares, a growth of 40.5% from the February 26th total of 13,158,793 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,544,335 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Blue Owl Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OBDC. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Blue Owl Capital by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its holdings in Blue Owl Capital by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 46,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the period. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Blue Owl Capital by 2.5% during the third quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Owl Capital by 1.5% in the third quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 59,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blue Owl Capital by 3.0% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the period. 42.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on OBDC. Zacks Research upgraded Blue Owl Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Blue Owl Capital from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Blue Owl Capital from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Blue Owl Capital from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Blue Owl Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.06.

Blue Owl Capital Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE OBDC traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.85. 6,969,477 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,558,508. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Blue Owl Capital has a 1-year low of $10.70 and a 1-year high of $15.31.

Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OBDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $439.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.38 million. Blue Owl Capital had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 33.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blue Owl Capital will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blue Owl Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.6%. Blue Owl Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.35%.

Blue Owl Capital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Blue Owl Capital Company Profile

Blue Owl Capital Corporation (NYSE: OBDC) is a publicly traded business development company sponsored by Blue Owl Capital, a global alternative asset manager. Launched in 2020, the firm provides customized financing solutions to middle-market companies across various industries. As an externally managed BDC, Blue Owl Capital Corporation leverages the deep credit‐investment capabilities of its sponsor to deliver flexible capital tailored to the needs of growing businesses.

The company’s investment activities span a range of private credit products, including first‐lien senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, second‐lien financings, mezzanine debt, and minority equity co-investments.