PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Seven analysts give PennantPark Floating Rate Capital a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $9.80 versus the stock’s $7.09 opening price.
• Recent analyst targets were lowered: Citizens JMP cut its target to $10 from $11, while Truist reduced its target to $9 from $10; other firms maintained or upgraded their ratings to “Hold.”
• Financial and dividend concerns remain: The company narrowly missed quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $0.27 versus $0.28 expected, while its $0.08 monthly dividend implies a 13.5% yield but a high 154.84% payout ratio.

Shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.80.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PFLT. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Stock Performance

NYSE PFLT opened at $7.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.46 and a 200 day moving average of $8.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a twelve month low of $6.83 and a twelve month high of $10.60.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NYSE:PFLT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $44.81 million during the quarter. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital had a net margin of 23.08% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PennantPark Floating Rate Capital will post 1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.5%. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital's payout ratio is currently 154.84%.

Insider Activity at PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

In other news, Director Jose A. Briones purchased 5,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.67 per share, for a total transaction of $50,025.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 348,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,017,879.61. This trade represents a 1.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFLT. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 177.9% in the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.77% of the company's stock.

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.

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