Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) Short Interest Up 17.3% in October

Portman Ridge Finance Co. (NASDAQ:PTMN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,500 shares, a growth of 17.3% from the September 30th total of 27,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 43,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portman Ridge Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTMN. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 1,340.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 43,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 40,169 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Portman Ridge Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at $787,000. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance by 74.2% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 49,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 21,273 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Portman Ridge Finance during the second quarter worth $272,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Portman Ridge Finance in the third quarter worth $251,000. 30.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Portman Ridge Finance Stock Performance

PTMN stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.40. The company had a trading volume of 39,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,999. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 4.40 and a current ratio of 4.40. The firm has a market cap of $170.09 million, a PE ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.02. Portman Ridge Finance has a 12 month low of $16.27 and a 12 month high of $20.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.09.

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.70 EPS 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 company had revenue of $16.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Portman Ridge Finance will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portman Ridge Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.00%. Portman Ridge Finance’s payout ratio is 210.69%.

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.