Short Interest in New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) Drops By 28.9%

New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 987,800 shares, a decline of 28.9% from the February 13th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 477,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

New Mountain Finance Price Performance

NMFC stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $10.94. The company had a trading volume of 555,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,549. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.16. New Mountain Finance has a 12-month low of $10.62 and a 12-month high of $12.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.59.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $92.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.23 million. New Mountain Finance had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 30.28%. On average, research analysts anticipate that New Mountain Finance will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

New Mountain Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 123.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Ogens bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.44 per share, with a total value of $57,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 179,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,047,988.80. This represents a 2.87 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 72,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.28 per share, with a total value of $815,318.40. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,285,505 shares in the company, valued at $48,340,496.40. This trade represents a 1.72 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 10.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of New Mountain Finance

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NMFC. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 16,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 35,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 45,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 429,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in New Mountain Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. 32.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About New Mountain Finance

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.