Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.96.

RWAY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point upgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $12.75 to $11.25 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Performance

Shares of RWAY opened at $10.29 on Tuesday. Runway Growth Finance has a 52 week low of $9.87 and a 52 week high of $13.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $396.65 million, a PE ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.60.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $34.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.62 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 19.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Research analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.49%. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 145.45%.

Insider Transactions at Runway Growth Finance

In other Runway Growth Finance news, CEO R David Spreng bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,850.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 69,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,140.44. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RWAY. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 4th quarter valued at $1,158,000. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 187,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 11,142 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 289.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 114,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 84,790 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwich Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Greenwich Investment Management Inc. now owns 118,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Runway Growth Finance

Runway Growth Finance Corp. is a business development company specializing investments in senior-secured loans to late stage and growth companies. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the technology, life sciences, healthcare and information services, business services and select consumer services and products sectors.