Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) Price Target Cut to $12.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) had its target price decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $13.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on RWAY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $13.50 to $12.50 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. B. Riley cut shares of Runway Growth Finance from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $14.50 to $13.50 in a report on Friday, March 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Runway Growth Finance from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Runway Growth Finance from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Runway Growth Finance currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $12.85.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ RWAY traded up $0.28 on Wednesday, reaching $12.13. The company had a trading volume of 146,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,563. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $491.39 million, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.73. Runway Growth Finance has a 12 month low of $10.47 and a 12 month high of $13.74.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $39.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.26 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 27.00%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Runway Growth Finance’s payout ratio is 145.45%.

Insider Activity at Runway Growth Finance

In related news, insider Thomas B. Raterman purchased 20,460 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.61 per share, with a total value of $237,540.60. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 179,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,089,393.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Thomas B. Raterman acquired 20,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.61 per share, for a total transaction of $237,540.60. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 179,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,089,393.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ocm Growth Holdings Llc sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.33, for a total transaction of $11,330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,492,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,526,263.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 16,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 267,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 289.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 114,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 84,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Greenwich Investment Management Inc. now owns 118,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,495,000 after buying an additional 3,265 shares during the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Runway Growth Finance

Runway Growth Finance Corp. is a business development company specializing investments in senior-secured loans to late stage and growth companies. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the technology, life sciences, healthcare and information services, business services and select consumer services and products sectors.