Man Group plc Invests $1.04 Million in Runway Growth Finance Corp. $RWAY

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 186,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,044,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWAY. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Runway Growth Finance by 52.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 7,299 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 704.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 102,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 90,112 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 379,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 93,755 shares during the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Performance

RWAY stock opened at $6.67 on Thursday. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 1-year low of $5.19 and a 1-year high of $10.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.51. The company has a market capitalization of $279.54 million, a P/E ratio of 60.64 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $37.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.06 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 5.82% and a return on equity of 11.73%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 19.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RWAY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Runway Growth Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Runway Growth Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Runway Growth Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.40.

Insider Activity

In other Runway Growth Finance news, CFO Carmela Thomson acquired 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.97 per share, for a total transaction of $55,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 12,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,494.80. This trade represents a 165.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

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.