PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:PFLT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• PennantPark Floating Rate Capital experienced a significant decrease in short interest, dropping by 22.3% to 994,600 shares in August.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with target prices ranging from $10.50 to $11.00, and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.1025, which translates to an annual yield of 12.6%, though it faces a high dividend payout ratio of 146.43%.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:PFLT - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 994,600 shares, a decline of 22.3% from the August 15th total of 1,280,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 779,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 779,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PFLT shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded PennantPark Floating Rate Capital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.88.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Price Performance

Shares of PFLT traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.79. 1,639,809 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,098,224. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a 12 month low of $8.82 and a 12 month high of $11.90. The stock has a market cap of $970.85 million, a PE ratio of 6.99 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $10.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.1025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 12.6%. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital's payout ratio is 146.43%.

Institutional Trading of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 162,389 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 45,022 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 86,588 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 247.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,747 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 105,656 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,091,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. 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.