Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) Price Target to $9.00

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) had its target price trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.25.

New Mountain Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NMFC opened at $7.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.32. The stock has a market cap of $823.22 million, a P/E ratio of 53.20 and a beta of 0.59. New Mountain Finance has a one year low of $7.52 and a one year high of $11.46.

New Mountain Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 853.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Laura C. Holson Boswerger acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.74 per share, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 81,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,172.20. This represents a 18.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven B. Klinsky acquired 237,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.10 per share, with a total value of $1,926,771.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,037,524 shares in the company, valued at $40,803,944.40. This represents a 4.96% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders bought 687,773 shares of company stock worth $5,539,465. Company insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Mountain Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in New Mountain Finance by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 606,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,844,000 after purchasing an additional 114,840 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in New Mountain Finance by 266.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 345,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,647,000 after purchasing an additional 251,596 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 18.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 643,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,788,000 after buying an additional 98,603 shares in the last quarter. Dimension Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 17.0% during the second quarter. Dimension Capital Management LLC now owns 950,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,023,000 after buying an additional 138,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 29.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,382,000 after buying an additional 363,443 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.08% of the company’s stock.

Key New Mountain Finance News

Here are the key news stories impacting New Mountain Finance this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Steven B. Klinsky completed multiple purchases in early March — roughly 675,000 shares bought across March 3–5, representing a multi‑million dollar accumulation. Large insider buys signal management confidence in the company’s outlook and can support the stock. InsiderTrades: Klinsky Acquires Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 (payable March 31; ex-dividend March 17), which provides a very high yield that may appeal to income investors but also requires scrutiny of sustainability. Detailed dividend and company profile available here. MarketBeat: NMFC Dividend & Profile
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have been cutting targets and taking a more cautious stance: B. Riley lowered its target and other firms have trimmed price objectives, leaving a consensus “Reduce”/Hold tilt and a consensus target below recent highs. Analyst pessimism is a near-term headwind. MarketBeat: Analyst Notes on NMFC
• Negative Sentiment: Dividend sustainability is a major concern: the reported annualized dividend implies an extremely high payout ratio (reported ~853%), which investors often view as unsustainable for a BDC and can pressure the share price if cash flows or NAV come under stress. MarketBeat: Dividend & Payout Ratio
• Negative Sentiment: Independent research and bearish commentary (including a pessimistic forecast cited by B. Riley) add selling pressure and may explain the weaker intraday performance. AmericanBankingNews: B. Riley Forecast

New Mountain Finance Company Profile

New Mountain Finance Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that provides customized debt and equity capital solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, New Mountain Finance invests in sponsor-backed and founder-led businesses that span a range of industry sectors, with a focus on companies demonstrating resilient growth and recurring revenue streams.

The company’s investment portfolio typically includes first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien and junior debt instruments, mezzanine financing and equity co-investments.