PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Five firms give PennantPark Investment a consensus "Hold" (1 sell, 3 hold, 1 buy) with an average 1-year target price of $5.75.
• Insider buying: CFO Richard T. Allorto Jr. purchased 15,000 shares at $4.88 on March 11, doubling his stake to 30,000 shares; corporate insiders own about 3% of the stock.
• Dividend action: The company announced a special dividend of $0.04 per share payable April 1 (record date March 16), with a reported dividend payout ratio of 123%.

PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.75.

PNNT has been the topic of several research reports. Compass Point upgraded shares of PennantPark Investment from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $5.75 to $5.50 in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of PennantPark Investment from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Insider Transactions at PennantPark Investment

In other PennantPark Investment news, CFO Richard T. Allorto, Jr. bought 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $4.88 per share, for a total transaction of $73,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $146,400. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PennantPark Investment

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $895,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in PennantPark Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $820,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in PennantPark Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $682,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in PennantPark Investment by 493.1% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 104,245 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 86,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PennantPark Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.62% of the company's stock.

PennantPark Investment Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of PNNT stock opened at $4.38 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $5.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.67 million, a PE ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 0.65. PennantPark Investment has a fifty-two week low of $4.29 and a fifty-two week high of $7.53.

PennantPark Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1,033.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. PennantPark Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.08%.

About PennantPark Investment

PennantPark Investment Corporation is a publicly traded closed-end management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Since its formation in 2006, PennantPark has focused on providing customized financing solutions to middle-market companies across the United States. The firm’s investment advisory services are provided by PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC, which sources and structures transactions tailored to the unique needs of its portfolio companies.

The company’s core strategy centers on debt and equity investments in U.S.-based businesses, typically those with annual revenues between $10 million and $200 million.

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