Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) Short Interest Update

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 117,800 shares, a growth of 31.2% from the February 13th total of 89,800 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 40,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Portman Ridge Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTMN traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.41. The stock had a trading volume of 47,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,384. Portman Ridge Finance has a 52 week low of $15.16 and a 52 week high of $20.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.14 and a quick ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.97 million, a PE ratio of 41.65 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Portman Ridge Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -431.25%.

Institutional Trading of Portman Ridge Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 29,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 62,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 65,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 21,859 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Portman Ridge Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,702,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 106,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 21,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.14% of the company’s stock.

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.