New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $9.25.

New Mountain Finance Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ NMFC opened at $8.05 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 3.16. New Mountain Finance has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $793.01 million, a PE ratio of 53.67 and a beta of 0.54.

New Mountain Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 853.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 276,242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $43,235,406.90. This trade represents a 5.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Adam B. Weinstein bought 12,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.61 per share, with a total value of $98,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 751,756 shares in the company, valued at $5,720,863.16. The trade was a 1.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 1,200,673 shares of company stock valued at $9,662,634 in the last three months. Insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,986,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,508,000 after purchasing an additional 353,062 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,589,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,966,000 after purchasing an additional 115,004 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 443,016 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,541,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,194,000 after purchasing an additional 385,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth $12,326,000. 32.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Mountain Finance Company Profile

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.