Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) Short Interest Up 62.1% in April

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 44,100 shares, a growth of 62.1% from the March 31st total of 27,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 41,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PTMN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Portman Ridge Finance in a report on Friday, March 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Portman Ridge Finance from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portman Ridge Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 1,719.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 58,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 54,956 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Portman Ridge Finance in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Portman Ridge Finance by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 119,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Portman Ridge Finance in the third quarter worth about $1,441,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Portman Ridge Finance during the third quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Institutional investors own 30.14% of the company’s stock.

Portman Ridge Finance Stock Performance

Shares of PTMN stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $19.55. The stock had a trading volume of 21,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,326. Portman Ridge Finance has a 1 year low of $16.27 and a 1 year high of $21.20. The stock has a market cap of $182.60 million, a P/E ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 5.92 and a current ratio of 5.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.23.

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter. Portman Ridge Finance had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $17.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.56 million. Equities research analysts expect that Portman Ridge Finance will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Portman Ridge Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 230.00%.

Portman Ridge Finance Company Profile

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.