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

Shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.20.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RWAY shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial decreased 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 report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Runway Growth Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

Runway Growth Finance stock opened at $5.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $233.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -61.00 and a beta of 0.66. Runway Growth Finance has a 52 week low of $5.21 and a 52 week high of $11.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.02). Runway Growth Finance had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 10.87%. The company had revenue of $29.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 24.0%. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,466.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,671,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,694,000 after purchasing an additional 261,768 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,145,000. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 231,744 shares in the last quarter. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter worth $1,259,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

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.