Insider Buying: Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) CFO Buys 8,000 Shares

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) CFO Carmela Thomson acquired 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.97 per share, with a total value of $55,760.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,494.80. This trade represents a 165.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Down 6.8%

RWAY traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $6.45. 625,051 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 582,796. The firm has a market cap of $270.32 million, a P/E ratio of 58.64 and a beta of 0.66. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 12-month low of $5.19 and a 12-month high of $10.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.73 and a 200 day moving average of $6.73.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.14. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $37.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.06 million. Analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 20.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Runway Growth Finance’s payout ratio is presently 1,200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 92.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 74,437.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares in the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Runway Growth Finance

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.