Portman Ridge Finance Corp (NASDAQ:BCIC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Portman Ridge Finance Corp (NASDAQ:BCIC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 63,038 shares, a drop of 33.3% from the August 15th total of 94,514 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 52,497 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Portman Ridge Finance Trading Down 0.3%

BCIC stock opened at $7.05 on Friday. Portman Ridge Finance has a 52 week low of $6.70 and a 52 week high of $13.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $87.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.85 and a beta of 0.50.

Portman Ridge Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio is -196.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward J. Goldthorpe bought 13,738 shares of Portman Ridge Finance stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.16 per share, with a total value of $98,364.08. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 99,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,126.48. This trade represents a 15.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BCIC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Portman Ridge Finance from $9.00 to $7.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Portman Ridge Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Portman Ridge Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.25.

About Portman Ridge Finance

Portman Ridge Finance Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market businesses. The company primarily invests in privately originated debt and equity securities, with an emphasis on senior secured loans and other forms of credit designed to generate income while supporting the growth and operations of its portfolio companies.

In addition to direct investments, Portman Ridge Finance has invested in broadly syndicated loans and collateralized loan obligation vehicles.