MQS Management LLC Takes Position in New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 10,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,000. New Mountain Finance accounts for 3.5% of MQS Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 2.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,823,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,811,000 after purchasing an additional 100,315 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Mountain Finance in the third quarter valued at about $375,000. Rockingstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 79.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 282,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 124,599 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of New Mountain Finance in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 7.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,376,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,438,000 after acquiring an additional 237,594 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Mountain Finance

In related news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 72,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.28 per share, for a total transaction of $815,318.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,285,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,340,496.40. This trade represents a 1.72 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David Ogens bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.44 per share, for a total transaction of $57,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 179,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,047,988.80. The trade was a 2.87 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

New Mountain Finance Stock Performance

NMFC stock opened at $11.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.16. New Mountain Finance Co. has a 1-year low of $10.61 and a 1-year high of $13.01.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $92.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.23 million. New Mountain Finance had a net margin of 30.28% and a return on equity of 11.25%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.25%. New Mountain Finance’s payout ratio is currently 123.08%.

About New Mountain Finance

New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC), a business development company is a private equity / buyouts and loan fund specializes in directly investing and lending to middle market companies in defensive growth industries. The fund prefers investing in buyout and middle market companies. It also makes investments in debt securities at all levels of the capital structure including first and second lien debt, unsecured notes, and mezzanine securities.