Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) CEO Michael Rovner Purchases 7,000 Shares

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) CEO Michael Rovner bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.57 per share, with a total value of $45,990.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,990. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RWAY opened at $6.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 12 month low of $5.19 and a 12 month high of $10.69. The company has a market capitalization of $272.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.19 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.10 and its 200 day moving average is $6.43.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.14. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 5.82%.The firm had revenue of $37.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 million. Research analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 20.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RWAY. Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter worth $844,000. North Ground Capital purchased a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,084,080. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,044,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 638,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,702,000 after acquiring an additional 231,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,561,000. 64.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Runway Growth Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.40.

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.