Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Receives $8.88 Average PT from Analysts

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.20.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RWAY shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $9.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Friday, March 27th.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Down 7.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:RWAY opened at $5.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $237.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.22 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Runway Growth Finance has a fifty-two week low of $5.60 and a fifty-two week high of $11.40.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $29.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.47 million. Runway Growth Finance had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 10.87%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 23.6%. Runway Growth Finance’s payout ratio is currently -1,466.67%.

Institutional Trading of Runway Growth Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 10.3% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,843,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,534,000 after buying an additional 171,872 shares in the last quarter. North Ground Capital boosted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,569,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,012,000 after buying an additional 794,050 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 3.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,442,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,654,000 after buying an additional 49,685 shares in the last quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP boosted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 1,200,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,724,000 after buying an additional 159,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 638,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,702,000 after buying an additional 231,744 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

About Runway Growth Finance

Runway Growth Finance, Inc is a publicly traded business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to high‐growth, venture‐backed companies. The firm specializes in structuring senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, second‐lien financings, convertible notes and equity co‐investments designed to extend the cash runway for late‐stage companies. Runway’s flexible capital offerings are aimed at supporting technology, life sciences and other innovation‐driven sectors as they pursue growth initiatives and prepare for liquidity events.

Originally launched in 2017 under the name Saratoga Investment Corp., the company rebranded as Runway Growth Finance in 2020 following the acquisition of an established middle‐market credit manager.