Insiders Are Betting on MVC Capital, Inc. (MVC). Wonder Why?

Last week, MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC)’s stock experienced several insider trades. On Wednesday, Jan. 15^th, Robert Knapp, Board Director, added 31,006 shares to his holdings, having paid a price of $13.77 per share. On Thursday, Jan. 16^th, he –once again- purchased the company’s stock, this time buying 4,876 shares at a price of $13.87 per share. After the reported transactions, he owns 35,882 shares, indirectly, through a separately managed account and a private fund in which Mr. Knapp is a Principal. In addition, he holds 300,765.37 shares through Ironsides Holdings LLC, which is fully-owned by him.

“MVC Capital, Inc., is an externally managed, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company.” (Morningstar) As it seeks to maximize returns, it holds one of the leading returns on asset in its industry (7%, vs. an industry mean of 1.2%). In addition, MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC)’s stock trades at only 8.9 times its sales and 0.8 times its book values, compared to industry averages of 22.9 x P/E and 2.0 x P/B.

Not only Mr. Knapp increased his bet on MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC) last week. Another insider that seems to see value in this stock is W Bruce Shewmaker, Managing Director, who added 500 shares to his holdings last Thursday.*He now owns 22,865.72 shares of common stock.

In addition to these insiders, several funds are placing their bets on MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC)´s growth –which seems quite smart, since analysts expect it to deliver average annual EPS growth rates around 15% over the next five years. Phillip Goldstein, Andrew Dakos and Steven Samuels´ Bulldog Investors hold 1.35 million company shares to its portfolio. Their stake amounts for more than 7% of the fund’s total holdings. Another prominent investor worth mentioning is Chuck Royce, who is the second-largest hedge fund bull on MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE:MVC), and owns 1.13 million shares.

* Mr. Shewmaker reported several transactions, both purchases and sales, on this date, but the final balance was an increase in his position by 500 shares. He paid about $13.83 per share.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no position in any stocks mentioned

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