New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.25.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NMFC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of New Mountain Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of New Mountain Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 276,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.05 per share, with a total value of $2,223,748.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,370,858 shares in the company, valued at $43,235,406.90. This represents a 5.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Laura C. Holson Boswerger bought 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.74 per share, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 81,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,172.20. This represents a 18.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 1,200,673 shares of company stock valued at $9,662,634 in the last 90 days. 14.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Mountain Finance

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NMFC. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,326,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,450,000. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,398,000. Truffle Hound Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,066,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,038,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,776,000 after buying an additional 443,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 32.08% of the company’s stock.

New Mountain Finance Trading Up 0.5%

NMFC opened at $8.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 2.02. New Mountain Finance has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $764.10 million, a PE ratio of -13.95 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $8.05 and its 200 day moving average is $8.70.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. New Mountain Finance had a negative net margin of 18.65% and a positive return on equity of 11.14%. The company had revenue of $41.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that New Mountain Finance will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.4%. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -220.69%.

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.