PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) Short Interest Update

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,516,343 shares, an increase of 66.8% from the February 26th total of 2,108,707 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,025,306 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PFLT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $10.50 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Maxim Group set a $10.50 target price on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Richard T. Allorto, Jr. acquired 15,000 shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.15 per share, for a total transaction of $122,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $203,750. This represents a 150.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jose A. Briones acquired 5,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.48 per share, with a total value of $49,989.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 342,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,902,814.24. This trade represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFLT. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,131,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,654,000 after purchasing an additional 226,805 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 81.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 147,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after buying an additional 65,977 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,533,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,520,000 after buying an additional 174,630 shares during the period. Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 170,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after buying an additional 65,977 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 19.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.73. 1,497,304 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,173,920. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.68. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a 1 year low of $7.70 and a 1 year high of $11.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $766.46 million, a PE ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 0.77.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NYSE:PFLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $12.72 million during the quarter. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 9.72%.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.1025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.9%. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital’s payout ratio is presently 361.76%.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Company Profile

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. is a business development company. It seeks to make secondary direct, debt, equity, and loan investments. The fund seeks to invest through floating rate loans in private or thinly traded or small market-cap, public middle market companies. It primarily invests in the United States and to a limited extent non-U.S. companies. The fund typically invests between $2 million and $20 million. The fund also invests in equity securities, such as preferred stock, common stock, warrants or options received in connection with debt investments or through direct investments.