Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 117,800 shares, an increase of 31.2% from the February 13th total of 89,800 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s 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 Trading Down 4.0 %

PTMN opened at $15.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $145.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Portman Ridge Finance has a 12 month low of $15.16 and a 12 month high of $20.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.41.

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

Portman Ridge Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -431.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in Portman Ridge Finance by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 62,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 3,671 shares in the last quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its position in Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 29,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Portman Ridge Finance by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 106,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after buying an additional 21,425 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Portman Ridge Finance by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 65,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 21,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Portman Ridge Finance by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 178,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after buying an additional 50,500 shares in the last quarter. 30.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.