Short Interest in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) Drops By 15.8%

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd. (NYSE:PFLT) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 2,108,707 shares, a decline of 15.8% from the February 12th total of 2,503,231 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,478,676 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,478,676 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PennantPark Floating Rate Capital news, CFO Richard T. Allorto, Jr. purchased 15,000 shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.15 per share, with a total value of $122,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $203,750. This trade represents a 150.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jose A. Briones purchased 5,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.48 per share, with a total value of $49,989.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 342,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,814.24. This represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 42.9% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC bought a new stake in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $5,562,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $13,392,000 after buying an additional 550,011 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 512,528 shares during the period. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd grew its holdings in PennantPark Floating Rate Capital by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,320,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,238,000 after acquiring an additional 404,117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PFLT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital from $10.50 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Maxim Group set a $10.50 price target on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.42.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE PFLT traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.22. 1,277,081 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,224,308. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital has a 52 week low of $7.92 and a 52 week high of $11.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.92. The stock has a market cap of $815.09 million, a PE ratio of 24.16 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital (NYSE:PFLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $12.72 million for the quarter. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 9.72%.

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.1025 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. PennantPark Floating Rate Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 361.76%.

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.