Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stake in PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 432,259 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 39,514 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.66% of PennantPark Investment worth $3,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PNNT. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PennantPark Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of PennantPark Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $110,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $115,000. Finally, Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.62% of the company's stock.

PennantPark Investment Price Performance

PNNT traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $6.47. 378,274 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 486,336. PennantPark Investment Co. has a twelve month low of $5.72 and a twelve month high of $8.04. The stock has a market cap of $422.14 million, a PE ratio of 24.87 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $6.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.92.

PennantPark Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. PennantPark Investment's payout ratio is currently 369.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on PennantPark Investment from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PennantPark Investment presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.00.

PennantPark Investment Company Profile

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.