BDC Stock Recent News

We take a look at the action in business development companies through the last week of May and highlight some of the key themes we are watching. BDCs posted strong returns in May. TSLX's claims of low sector ROEs are overstated; sector averages mask significant outperformance by select BDCs and better portfolio yields.

WHEATON, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Trust Advisors L.P. (“FTA”) announced today that, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, the reorganization of First Trust Specialty Finance and Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE: FGB), a closed-end management investment company, managed by FTA and sub-advised by Confluence Investment Management LLC (“Confluence”), into FT Confluence BDC & Specialty Finance Income ETF (NYSE Arca: FBDC), an actively managed exchange-traded.

Barings BDC's dividend appears safe for the near-term, but declining financials and economic uncertainty warrant caution for income investors. Recent earnings showed net investment income fell below dividend coverage, with credit quality and leverage metrics also weakening. Despite attractive discount to NAV and defensive portfolio moves, I recommend waiting for financial and NAV stability before buying.

Part 1 of this article compares Golub Capital BDC's recent quarterly change in NAV, quarterly and trailing 12-month economic return, NII, and current valuation to 11 BDC peers. Part 1 also performs a comparative analysis of each company's investment portfolio as of 12/31/2024 and 3/31/2025. This includes an updated percentage of investments on non-accrual status. I also provide a list of the other BDC stocks I currently believe are undervalued (a buy recommendation), overvalued (a sell recommendation), and appropriately valued (a hold recommendation).

OTF to become largest publicly traded technology-focused BDC by total assets upon listing NEW YORK , June 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp. ("OTF" or the "Company"), a leading business development company ("BDC") focused on investing in U.S. upper middle-market technology companies, announced today that it intends to list the Company's shares of common stock on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). Subject to market conditions, the Company anticipates that its shares of common stock will commence trading on the NYSE on or about June 12, 2025 under the ticker symbol "OTF".

I am increasingly cautious on BDCs due to rising non-accruals, weaker earnings, and looser underwriting amid intense competition for private credit deals. Elevated interest rates are suppressing BDC valuations and making it harder for borrowers to service debt, leading to fewer quality investment opportunities. Dividend coverage is weakening across many BDCs, with higher non-accruals and PIK income threatening the sustainability of distributions investors rely on.

BDCs are high-risk assets. It means that buy and hold forever strategy might be suboptimal. Yet, there are exceptions.

We take a look at the action in business development companies through the fourth week of May and highlight some of the key themes we are watching. BDC sector pulled back 2% this week, but remains up 2.5% month-to-date; valuations are about 5% below historic averages. Despite headlines of credit stress, BDC portfolios' interest income continues to offset markdowns and non-accruals, supporting solid total NAV returns.

There are only 2 ETF options to invest in the BDC segment, and BIZD is one of them. Even though it is the largest and most liquid alternative, it has some notable drawbacks. In this article, I elaborate in more detail on why BIZD is, in my view, a suboptimal choice for investors, who want to go long the BDC land.

Barings BDC is a well-established vehicle with one of the longest track records in the sector. The portfolio quality is solid, and certainly better than what could be implied from the 20% discount to NAV. Yet, the base dividend seems unsustainable or at least with no material margin of safety.