Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) Price Target Cut to $16.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

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

Portman Ridge Finance Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of PTMN opened at $15.31 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.31. The stock has a market cap of $140.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that Portman Ridge Finance will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portman Ridge Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.28%. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -293.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Portman Ridge Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulldog Investors LLP raised its holdings in Portman Ridge Finance by 155.0% in the 4th quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 216,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 131,630 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Portman Ridge Finance by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 178,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,912,000 after purchasing an additional 50,500 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in 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 period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Portman Ridge Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $1,702,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in Portman Ridge Finance by 50.3% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.14% of the company’s stock.

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.