Analyzing Portman Ridge Finance (BCIC) and Its Rivals

Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:BCIC) is one of 1,753 public companies in the “Capital Markets” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Portman Ridge Finance to similar businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Portman Ridge Finance and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Portman Ridge Finance	-5.72%	13.56%	5.25%
Portman Ridge Finance Competitors	2,708.21%	78.38%	3.67%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Portman Ridge Finance and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Portman Ridge Finance	$2.90 million	$11.49 million	-14.09
Portman Ridge Finance Competitors	$5.09 billion	$395.55 million	20.36

Portman Ridge Finance’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Portman Ridge Finance. Portman Ridge Finance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Portman Ridge Finance has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Portman Ridge Finance’s rivals have a beta of 0.80, indicating that their average stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

30.1% of Portman Ridge Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Portman Ridge Finance shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of shares of all “Capital Markets” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Portman Ridge Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.9%. Portman Ridge Finance pays out -196.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Capital Markets” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 28.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Portman Ridge Finance is clearly a better dividend stock than its rivals, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Portman Ridge Finance and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Portman Ridge Finance	1	4	0	0	1.80
Portman Ridge Finance Competitors	5236	19603	21906	605	2.38

Portman Ridge Finance presently has a consensus target price of $9.25, suggesting a potential upside of 19.35%. As a group, “Capital Markets” companies have a potential upside of 20.69%. Given Portman Ridge Finance’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Portman Ridge Finance has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Summary

Portman Ridge Finance rivals beat Portman Ridge Finance on 12 of the 15 factors compared.

About Portman Ridge Finance

Portman Ridge Finance Corporation is a business development company specializing in investments in unitranche loans (including last out), first lien loans, second lien loans, subordinated debt, equity co-investment, buyout in middle market companies. It also makes acquisitions in businesses complementary to the firm’s business. It primarily invests in healthcare, cargo transport, manufacturing, industrial & environmental services, logistics & distribution, media & telecommunications, real estate, education, automotive, agriculture, aerospace/defense, packaging, electronics, finance, non-durable consumer, consumer products, business services, utilities, insurance, and food and beverage sectors. The fund typically invests $1 million to $20 million in its portfolio companies. It provides senior secured term loans from $2 million to $20 million maturing in five to seven years; second lien term loans from $5 million to $15 million maturing in six to eight years; senior unsecured loans $5 million to $23 million maturing in six to eight years; mezzanine loans from $5 million to $15 million maturing in seven to ten years; and equity investments from $1 to $5 million. The fund targets the companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $25 million. While investing in debt securities, it invests in those middle market firms with EBITDA between $10 million and $50 million and/or total debt between $25 million and $150 million. It invests in minority, and majority or control equity positions alongside its private equity sponsor partners.