Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) Given New $16.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) had its price objective lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $18.00 to $16.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Portman Ridge Finance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PTMN opened at $15.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.35. Portman Ridge Finance has a twelve month low of $15.16 and a twelve month high of $20.84. The company has a market capitalization of $142.80 million, a P/E ratio of 41.89 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $14.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.14 million. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.13%. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -431.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portman Ridge Finance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bulldog Investors LLP grew its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 216,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,539,000 after buying an additional 131,630 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Portman Ridge Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $1,702,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 39.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 178,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 50,500 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew 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 in the last quarter. 30.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.