Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.8750.

Several brokerages have weighed in on RWAY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Friday, March 27th. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $9.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

Shares of Runway Growth Finance stock opened at $6.01 on Tuesday. Runway Growth Finance has a twelve month low of $6.00 and a twelve month high of $11.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.02). Runway Growth Finance had a positive return on equity of 10.87% and a negative net margin of 2.00%.The business had revenue of $29.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.47 million. Analysts forecast that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 22.0%. Runway Growth Finance’s payout ratio is presently -1,466.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,671,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,694,000 after buying an additional 261,768 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,145,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 638,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after buying an additional 231,744 shares in the last quarter. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,259,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 24,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 4,575 shares in the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Runway Growth Finance Company Profile

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.