Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Receives $8.20 Consensus PT from Analysts

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.20.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RWAY. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Bank of America cut Runway Growth Finance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWAY. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,671,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,694,000 after acquiring an additional 261,768 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 638,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after purchasing an additional 231,744 shares during the last quarter. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $1,259,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 24,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 4,575 shares in the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Trading Down 1.1%

RWAY stock opened at $5.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. Runway Growth Finance has a 52 week low of $5.19 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.95. The company has a market capitalization of $231.89 million, a PE ratio of -60.67 and a beta of 0.66.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $29.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.46 million. Runway Growth Finance had a positive return on equity of 10.87% and a negative net margin of 2.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 24.2%. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,466.67%.

Runway Growth Finance Company 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.