B. Riley Financial Cuts Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) Price Target to $10.00

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) had its price target reduced by B. Riley Financial from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $9.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Runway Growth Finance presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.60.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Performance

RWAY stock opened at $7.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $253.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.26. Runway Growth Finance has a one year low of $6.61 and a one year high of $11.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $30.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.60 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 24.79%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.8%. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 143.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $15,694,000 after buying an additional 261,768 shares during the period. North Ground Capital lifted its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 102.5% during the 4th quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,569,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,012,000 after acquiring an additional 794,050 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,442,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,654,000 after acquiring an additional 49,685 shares during the last quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 1,200,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,724,000 after acquiring an additional 159,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 57.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 638,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,702,000 after acquiring an additional 231,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.