Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on RWAY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Friday, March 27th. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $9.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.88.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of RWAY stock opened at $6.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $282.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.89 and a beta of 0.64. Runway Growth Finance has a one year low of $6.36 and a one year high of $11.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $29.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.47 million. Runway Growth Finance had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 10.87%. Sell-side analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,466.67%.

Institutional Trading of Runway Growth Finance

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 92.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $64,000 after buying an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.