New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) has been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.50.

Several equities research analysts have commented on NMFC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down previously from $11.75) on shares of New Mountain Finance in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Oppenheimer set a $11.00 target price on shares of New Mountain Finance and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, New Street Research set a $10.00 price target on shares of New Mountain Finance in a report on Friday, October 10th.

Insider Activity at New Mountain Finance

In related news, Director Steven B. Klinsky purchased 106,691 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $1,043,437.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,370,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,746,981.46. This represents a 2.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Adam B. Weinstein purchased 49,750 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.03 per share, with a total value of $498,992.50. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 652,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,544,474.70. This trade represents a 8.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 157,191 shares of company stock valued at $1,550,035 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NMFC. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in New Mountain Finance during the second quarter worth $38,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 311.8% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,433 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in New Mountain Finance during the third quarter worth $47,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 44.9% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 360.7% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 8,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 32.08% of the company’s stock.

New Mountain Finance Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:NMFC opened at $9.69 on Tuesday. New Mountain Finance has a 52 week low of $8.84 and a 52 week high of $12.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.24.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. New Mountain Finance had a net margin of 23.27% and a return on equity of 10.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. New Mountain Finance’s revenue was down 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that New Mountain Finance will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

New Mountain Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 168.42%.

New Mountain Finance Company Profile

New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC), a business development company is a private equity / buyouts and loan fund specializes in directly investing and lending to middle market companies in defensive growth industries. The fund prefers investing in buyout and middle market companies. It also makes investments in debt securities at all levels of the capital structure including first and second lien debt, unsecured notes, and mezzanine securities.