PennantPark Investment Co. Announces Monthly Dividend of $0.08 (NASDAQ:PNNT)

PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the asset manager on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th.

PennantPark Investment has increased its dividend payment by an average of 24.2% per year over the last three years. PennantPark Investment has a payout ratio of 112.9% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect PennantPark Investment to earn $0.86 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 111.6%.

PennantPark Investment Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PNNT traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $7.14. The company had a trading volume of 283,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,902. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. PennantPark Investment has a 52 week low of $6.43 and a 52 week high of $8.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.98. The stock has a market cap of $465.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.97 and a beta of 1.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut PennantPark Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

About PennantPark Investment

PennantPark Investment Corporation, a business development company is a private equity fund specializes in direct and mezzanine investments in middle market companies. It invests in the form of mezzanine debt, senior secured loans, and equity investments. The fund typically invests in buildings and real estate, hotels, gaming and leisure, technology, telecommunications, transportation, information technology services, electronics, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, education and childcare, financial services, printing and publishing, consumer products, business services, energy & Related Services and utilities, distribution, oil and gas, media, environmental services, aerospace and defense, building materials, capital equipment, chemicals, plastics, & rubber, food & beverage, wholesale, manufacturing and basic industries and retail.