New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $7.50 and last traded at $7.6250, with a volume of 4137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on NMFC shares. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.25.

New Mountain Finance Trading Down 2.0%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.20. The stock has a market cap of $786.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.16.

New Mountain Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance’s payout ratio is presently 853.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Mountain Finance

In related news, Director Steven B. Klinsky acquired 276,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.05 per share, with a total value of $2,223,748.10. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,370,858 shares in the company, valued at $43,235,406.90. The trade was a 5.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Laura C. Holson Boswerger bought 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.74 per share, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 81,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,172.20. The trade was a 18.24% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 1,187,773 shares of company stock valued at $9,564,465 over the last quarter. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NMFC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 218.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 10,503 shares during the last quarter. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new position in New Mountain Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,450,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 21,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 8,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.08% of the company’s stock.

About New Mountain Finance

New Mountain Finance Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that provides customized debt and equity capital solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, New Mountain Finance invests in sponsor-backed and founder-led businesses that span a range of industry sectors, with a focus on companies demonstrating resilient growth and recurring revenue streams.

The company’s investment portfolio typically includes first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien and junior debt instruments, mezzanine financing and equity co-investments.