Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) Downgraded to “Neutral” at Compass Point

Compass Point cut shares of Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $12.75 target price on the stock.

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

Runway Growth Finance Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ RWAY opened at $12.32 on Wednesday. Runway Growth Finance has a twelve month low of $10.47 and a twelve month high of $13.74. The firm has a market cap of $499.08 million, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $39.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.26 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 27.00% and a return on equity of 13.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.99%. Runway Growth Finance’s payout ratio is 145.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO R David Spreng acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.88 per share, with a total value of $59,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 64,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,640.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Runway Growth Finance news, CEO R David Spreng purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.88 per share, for a total transaction of $59,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 64,532 shares in the company, valued at $766,640.16. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thomas B. Raterman acquired 20,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.61 per share, with a total value of $237,540.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 179,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,089,393.65. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWAY. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $126,000. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 8.7% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 11,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Runway Growth Finance by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $165,000. 64.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Company Profile

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.