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

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 40,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Portman Ridge Finance from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 29,852 shares of the company's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 6,031 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 62,217 shares of the company's stock worth $1,017,000 after buying an additional 3,671 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 65,351 shares of the company's stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 21,859 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,702,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 106,165 shares of the company's stock worth $1,735,000 after buying an additional 21,425 shares during the last quarter. 30.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Portman Ridge Finance Stock Performance

PTMN traded up $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $15.68. The company had a trading volume of 52,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,184. The company's fifty day moving average price is $16.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.35. Portman Ridge Finance has a 1-year low of $15.16 and a 1-year high of $20.84. 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 cap of $144.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Portman Ridge Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.99%. Portman Ridge Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -293.75%.

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.