Short Interest in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Declines By 17.5%

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 948,300 shares, a decline of 17.5% from the October 15th total of 1,150,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 261,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on RWAY. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Compass Point upgraded 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 report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.79.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,770,000. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 28.8% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 469,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after purchasing an additional 104,822 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Runway Growth Finance by 5.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,336,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,747,000 after purchasing an additional 73,200 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $439,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 1st quarter valued at $323,000. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Up 0.1 %

RWAY stock opened at $10.41 on Friday. Runway Growth Finance has a one year low of $9.87 and a one year high of $13.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.33 million, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 153.85%.

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.