Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.8750.

RWAY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research raised Runway Growth Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,671,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,694,000 after buying an additional 261,768 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the third quarter worth about $4,145,000. North Ground Capital boosted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 48.6% during the third quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 775,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,874,000 after buying an additional 253,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 12.4% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,646 shares during the period. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Performance

RWAY stock opened at $6.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $267.14 million, a PE ratio of -69.89 and a beta of 0.64. Runway Growth Finance has a 1-year low of $6.22 and a 1-year high of $11.40.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted 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 business had revenue of $29.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.47 million. Runway Growth Finance had a positive return on equity of 10.87% and a negative net margin of 2.00%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 21.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,466.67%.

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.