PennantPark Investment (NASDAQ:PNNT) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $7.02

Shares of PennantPark Investment Co. (NASDAQ:PNNT) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $7.02 and traded as high as $7.45. PennantPark Investment shares last traded at $7.44, with a volume of 279,610 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James downgraded PennantPark Investment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of PennantPark Investment to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.94.

PennantPark Investment Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $484.91 million, a PE ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.49.

PennantPark Investment (NASDAQ:PNNT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The asset manager reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). PennantPark Investment had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 40.14%. The firm had revenue of $35.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.22 million. On average, research analysts predict that PennantPark Investment Co. will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

PennantPark Investment Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a positive change from PennantPark Investment’s previous monthly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. PennantPark Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PennantPark Investment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PNNT. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PennantPark Investment by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 12,519 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in PennantPark Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $101,000. 26.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PennantPark Investment Company Profile

PennantPark Investment Corporation, a business development company is a private equity fund specializes in direct and mezzanine investments in middle market companies. It invests in the form of mezzanine debt, senior secured loans, and equity investments. The fund typically invests in buildings and real estate, hotels, gaming and leisure, technology, telecommunications, transportation, information technology services, electronics, healthcare & pharmaceuticals, education and childcare, financial services, printing and publishing, consumer products, business services, energy & Related Services and utilities, distribution, oil and gas, media, environmental services, aerospace and defense, building materials, capital equipment, chemicals, plastics, & rubber, food & beverage, wholesale, manufacturing and basic industries and retail.