Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $9.50 target price (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 price target (up previously from $11.50) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. B. Riley raised their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 92.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 117.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 3,229 shares during the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 74,437.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 5,955 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

Runway Growth Finance stock opened at $10.43 on Friday. Runway Growth Finance has a 52 week low of $8.35 and a 52 week high of $11.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $10.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $377.77 million, a P/E ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.70.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 51.03%.The firm had revenue of $35.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This is an increase from Runway Growth Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.47%.

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.