North Ground Capital Takes $4.08 Million Position in Runway Growth Finance Corp. $RWAY

North Ground Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 728,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,080. Runway Growth Finance accounts for about 0.0% of North Ground Capital’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. North Ground Capital owned approximately 1.74% of Runway Growth Finance as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,843,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,534,000 after purchasing an additional 171,872 shares during the last quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP grew its position in Runway Growth Finance by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Bulldog Investors LLP now owns 1,200,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,724,000 after acquiring an additional 159,588 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Runway Growth Finance by 57.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 638,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after acquiring an additional 231,744 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 602,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,120,000 after acquiring an additional 40,354 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Management LLC raised its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 553,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 117,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Runway Growth Finance

In related news, CFO Carmela Thomson bought 8,000 shares of Runway Growth Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.97 per share, for a total transaction of $55,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 12,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,494.80. This represents a 165.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RWAY shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America cut shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Runway Growth Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Runway Growth Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Runway Growth Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.40.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

RWAY stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.57. The company had a trading volume of 446,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,161. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 12-month low of $5.19 and a 12-month high of $10.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $275.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.73 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.57.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.14. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $37.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 20.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 1,200.00%.

Runway Growth Finance Profile

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.