PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) Short Interest Down 15.8% in February

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) saw a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,108,707 shares, a decline of 15.8% from the February 12th total of 2,503,231 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,478,676 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,478,676 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group set a $10.50 price target on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 report on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.42.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PFLT traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.10. The stock had a trading volume of 394,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,361. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.97. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a 52 week low of $7.92 and a 52 week high of $11.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $803.19 million, a P/E ratio of 23.78 and a beta of 0.77.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NYSE:PFLT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.03). PennantPark Floating Rate Capital had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $12.72 million for the quarter.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.1025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.2%. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 361.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,654,000 after acquiring an additional 226,805 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 81.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 147,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 65,977 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 7.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,533,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,520,000 after purchasing an additional 174,630 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. lifted its position in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 62.9% during the third quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 170,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 65,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.77% of the company’s stock.

About PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

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.