PennantPark Investment Corporation (PNNT) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:PNNT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “PennantPark Investment Corporation is a business development company which principally invests in U.S. middle-market private companies in the form of mezzanine debt, senior secured loans and equity investments. The companies in which it invests are typically highly leveraged, often as a result of leveraged buy-outs or other recapitalization transactions. PennantPark’s investment objectives are to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. PennantPark Investment Corporation is managed by PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC. “

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on PNNT. TheStreet lowered shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a hold rating and issued a $8.50 price target on shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation in a report on Friday, April 21st. JMP Securities lowered shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, May 11th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation in a report on Thursday, July 13th. They issued a buy rating and a $8.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC reiterated a hold rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation in a report on Friday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. PennantPark Investment Corporation has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $8.11.

PennantPark Investment Corporation (PNNT) traded down 0.201% on Tuesday, reaching $7.465. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 146,680 shares. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.84. PennantPark Investment Corporation has a 52 week low of $6.86 and a 52 week high of $8.68.

PennantPark Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:PNNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The asset manager reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $33.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.29 million. PennantPark Investment Corporation had a net margin of 58.91% and a return on equity of 9.98%. PennantPark Investment Corporation’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Equities analysts predict that PennantPark Investment Corporation will post $0.85 EPS for the current year.

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The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 21st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 19th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.63%. PennantPark Investment Corporation’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

In other PennantPark Investment Corporation news, Chairman Arthur H. Penn bought 28,000 shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.78 per share, for a total transaction of $217,840.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 183,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,852. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Arthur H. Penn bought 17,000 shares of PennantPark Investment Corporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.77 per share, for a total transaction of $132,090.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,018. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 77,000 shares of company stock worth $596,970 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in PennantPark Investment Corporation by 4.3% in the first quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 924,650 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,526,000 after buying an additional 37,900 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in PennantPark Investment Corporation during the first quarter valued at $493,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in PennantPark Investment Corporation by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 499,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,829,000 after buying an additional 74,690 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in PennantPark Investment Corporation by 29.0% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 543,402 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,423,000 after buying an additional 122,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relative Value Partners Group LLC raised its position in PennantPark Investment Corporation by 18.2% in the first quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 284,012 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 43,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.97% of the company’s stock.

About PennantPark Investment Corporation

PennantPark Investment Corporation is a closed-end, non-diversified investment company. The Company is a business development company. Its objectives are to generate both current income and capital appreciation while seeking to preserve capital through debt and equity investments primarily made to the United States middle-market companies in the form of senior secured debt, mezzanine debt and equity investments.

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