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

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

Portman Ridge Finance Price Performance

BCIC stock opened at $7.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. Portman Ridge Finance has a one year low of $6.70 and a one year high of $13.50. The stock has a market cap of $87.03 million, a PE ratio of -12.78 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.69.

Portman Ridge Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.4%. Portman Ridge Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -196.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Portman Ridge Finance in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Portman Ridge Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.16 per share, with a total value of $98,364.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,126.48. This represents a 15.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.