North Ground Capital Boosts Position in Runway Growth Finance Corp. $RWAY

North Ground Capital grew its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 775,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 253,500 shares during the quarter. Runway Growth Finance comprises about 4.9% of North Ground Capital’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. North Ground Capital owned about 2.14% of Runway Growth Finance worth $7,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 92.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 74,437.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 18.2% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 11,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 18,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.10.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Down 2.1%

RWAY opened at $9.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $339.26 million, a PE ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.18 and its 200-day moving average is $10.02. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a one year low of $8.35 and a one year high of $11.73.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 38.92%.The firm had revenue of $36.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.11 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.1%. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

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.