Short Interest in Portman Ridge Finance Corp (NASDAQ:BCIC) Decreases By 33.3%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward J. Goldthorpe purchased 13,738 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.16 per share, for a total transaction of $98,364.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 99,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,126.48. This represents a 15.95% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Portman Ridge Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BCIC opened at $7.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.91 million, a PE ratio of -12.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Portman Ridge Finance has a 12-month low of $6.70 and a 12-month high of $13.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.72.

Portman Ridge Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Portman Ridge Finance’s payout ratio is -196.36%.

Portman Ridge Finance Company Profile

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.