PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have given PennantPark Floating Rate Capital a consensus "Moderate Buy" from eight brokers (five buys, two holds, one strong buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $10.25.
• The company announced a monthly dividend of $0.1025 (ex‑dividend Apr 15, pay May 1), implying a 14.2% yield
• PFLT trades around $8.64 (52‑week range $7.68–$10.88) with a market cap of ~$857M; it reported Q4 EPS of $0.27 (missing $0.30) while insiders — including the CFO and a director — recently bought shares at roughly $8.15–$8.48.

Shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.25.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFLT. Maxim Group set a $10.50 target price on PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:PFLT opened at $8.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $856.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40 and a beta of 0.75. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a 52 week low of $7.68 and a 52 week high of $10.88. 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 moving average of $8.33 and a 200 day moving average of $8.90.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NYSE:PFLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $12.72 million for the quarter. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 13.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PennantPark Floating Rate Capital will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be given a $0.1025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.2%. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 361.76%.

Insider Activity at PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

In other PennantPark Floating Rate Capital news, CFO Richard T. Allorto, Jr. purchased 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.15 per share, for a total transaction of $122,250.00. Following the acquisition, 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Jose A. Briones acquired 5,895 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.48 per share, for a total transaction of $49,989.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 342,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,814.24. The trade was a 1.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFLT. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,057,399 shares of the company's stock worth $18,290,000 after purchasing an additional 617,657 shares in the last quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $5,562,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,196,752 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 550,011 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,643,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,257,000 after acquiring an additional 512,528 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its position in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,320,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,238,000 after acquiring an additional 404,117 shares during the period. 19.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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