PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NASDAQ:PFLT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Key Points

• PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NASDAQ:PFLT) has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH, indicating increased confidence in its stock performance.
• Despite the upgrade, other brokerages have mixed opinions with ratings ranging from "sell" to "outperform", highlighting variability in market sentiment.
• Institutional investors have shown increased interest, with significant stake increases from hedge funds like Brevan Howard Capital Management LP, which raised its stake by 118.1%.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NASDAQ:PFLT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, August 13th,Zacks.com reports.

PFLT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $10.88.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Stock Performance

Shares of PFLT traded down $0.0650 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.1550. 357,020 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,117,322. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a 52 week low of $8.82 and a 52 week high of $11.90. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $10.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 1,603.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,777 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 190.2% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,674 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the second quarter worth $41,000. CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the second quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. 19.77% of the stock is currently 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.