Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 116,900 shares, a decline of 18.6% from the March 15th total of 143,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 46,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Portman Ridge Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTMN opened at $12.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Portman Ridge Finance has a 1-year low of $11.60 and a 1-year high of $20.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.45. The firm has a market cap of $111.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $14.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.14 million. Portman Ridge Finance had a net margin of 5.47% and a return on equity of 14.68%. Analysts anticipate that Portman Ridge Finance will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Portman Ridge Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio is -293.75%.

Institutional Trading of Portman Ridge Finance

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bulldog Investors LLP increased its stake in Portman Ridge Finance by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 216,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after purchasing an additional 131,630 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 178,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after buying an additional 50,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 106,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 21,425 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Portman Ridge Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,702,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Portman Ridge Finance by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 65,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 21,859 shares during the last quarter. 30.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Portman Ridge Finance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

About Portman Ridge Finance

Portman Ridge Finance Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in unitranche loans (including last out), first lien loans, second lien loans, subordinated debt, equity co-investment, mezzanine, buyout in middle market companies. It also makes acquisitions in businesses complementary to the firm's business.