Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.10.

RWAY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 19th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RWAY. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,842,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the third quarter worth approximately $4,145,000. North Ground Capital increased its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 48.6% in the third quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 775,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,874,000 after purchasing an additional 253,500 shares in the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,615,000. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at $962,000. 64.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Up 1.7%

Runway Growth Finance stock opened at $9.42 on Friday. Runway Growth Finance has a one year low of $8.35 and a one year high of $11.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.19 and a 200 day moving average of $10.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $340.34 million, a PE ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.67.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 38.92%.The business had revenue of $36.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.11 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.0%. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

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.