Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.10.

RWAY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Performance

NASDAQ RWAY opened at $9.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.07. The company has a market cap of $336.01 million, a PE ratio of 6.33 and a beta of 0.67. Runway Growth Finance has a 1-year low of $8.35 and a 1-year high of $11.73.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $36.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.11 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 38.92%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,842,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the third quarter worth approximately $4,145,000. North Ground Capital increased its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 48.6% during the third quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 775,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,874,000 after acquiring an additional 253,500 shares during the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter worth $1,615,000. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the third quarter valued at $962,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

About Runway Growth Finance

Runway Growth Finance, Inc is a publicly traded business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to high‐growth, venture‐backed companies. The firm specializes in structuring senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, second‐lien financings, convertible notes and equity co‐investments designed to extend the cash runway for late‐stage companies. Runway’s flexible capital offerings are aimed at supporting technology, life sciences and other innovation‐driven sectors as they pursue growth initiatives and prepare for liquidity events.

Originally launched in 2017 under the name Saratoga Investment Corp., the company rebranded as Runway Growth Finance in 2020 following the acquisition of an established middle‐market credit manager.