Portman Ridge Finance (NASDAQ:PTMN – Get Free Report) and Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation and profitability.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Portman Ridge Finance and Cohen & Steers”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Portman Ridge Finance | -$2.85 million | -60.28 | -$5.93 million | ($0.93) | -13.98 |
| Cohen & Steers | $517.42 million | 6.10 | $151.26 million | $3.19 | 19.40 |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Portman Ridge Finance and Cohen & Steers, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Portman Ridge Finance | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Cohen & Steers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Portman Ridge Finance presently has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.69%. Cohen & Steers has a consensus target price of $72.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.16%. Given Cohen & Steers’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cohen & Steers is more favorable than Portman Ridge Finance.
Dividends
Portman Ridge Finance pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.5%. Cohen & Steers pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Portman Ridge Finance pays out -202.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cohen & Steers pays out 77.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cohen & Steers has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Portman Ridge Finance is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Volatility and Risk
Portman Ridge Finance has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cohen & Steers has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Portman Ridge Finance and Cohen & Steers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Portman Ridge Finance | -15.92% | 11.49% | 4.54% |
| Cohen & Steers | 29.73% | 29.40% | 19.73% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
30.1% of Portman Ridge Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.5% of Cohen & Steers shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Portman Ridge Finance shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 45.6% of Cohen & Steers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Cohen & Steers beats Portman Ridge Finance on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
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, mezzanine, 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.
About Cohen & Steers
Cohen & Steers, Inc. is a holding company, which operates as an investment manager specializing in liquid real assets, which include real estate securities, listed infrastructure, commodities, natural resource equities, preferred securities, and other income solutions. It manages investment vehicles, such as institutional accounts, open-end funds and closed-end funds. The company was founded by Martin Cohen and Robert Hamilton Steers in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
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