Runway Growth Finance Corp. (RWAY) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.40.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RWAY shares. Zacks Research raised Runway Growth Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Friday, September 11th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Runway Growth Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Runway Growth Finance Trading Up 0.5%

RWAY stock opened at $6.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $273.09 million, a PE ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.70. Runway Growth Finance has a one year low of $5.19 and a one year high of $10.06. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $40.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.73 million. As a group, analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.9%. Runway Growth Finance’s payout ratio is presently 880.00%.

Insider Activity at Runway Growth Finance

In other news, CEO Michael Rovner bought 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.57 per share, for a total transaction of $45,990.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,990. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Carmela Thomson bought 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.97 per share, for a total transaction of $55,760.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,494.80. The trade was a 165.29% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 16,000 shares of company stock valued at $108,640 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWAY. North Ground Capital bought a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter valued at about $4,084,080. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,561,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,044,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $983,000. Finally, Evanson Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $844,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

Runway Growth Finance Company Profile

Runway Growth Finance Corp. is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to growth-oriented companies, primarily in the technology, life sciences, healthcare, products and services sectors. The company seeks to support businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing or require capital to fund expansion, acquisitions, product development and other strategic initiatives. Its investment activity is centered on senior secured loans, including term loans and other structured debt investments.