Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) Short Interest Down 36.9% in August

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,000 shares, a decline of 36.9% from the August 15th total of 50,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 42,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PTMN. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Portman Ridge Finance by 1.8% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 59,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Portman Ridge Finance in the second quarter valued at $59,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance during the second quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Portman Ridge Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. 30.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Portman Ridge Finance Stock Up 1.3 %

PTMN traded up $0.24 on Monday, reaching $18.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 37,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,284. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 4.40 and a quick ratio of 4.40. Portman Ridge Finance has a 1 year low of $16.27 and a 1 year high of $20.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.08 and its 200 day moving average is $19.23. The stock has a market cap of $171.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.01.

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Portman Ridge Finance had a net margin of 18.14% and a return on equity of 14.86%. The business had revenue of $16.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Portman Ridge Finance will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portman Ridge Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.94%. Portman Ridge Finance’s payout ratio is 165.27%.

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.