Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.33

Key Points

• Runway Growth Finance declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, payable December 3 to shareholders of record November 17. The annualized dividend is $1.32, a 20.1% yield.
• The dividend may be difficult to sustain: the current payout ratio is 85.7%, while analysts’ projected $1.30 in next-year earnings per share would imply a payout ratio of 101.5%.
• Recent results beat estimates, with quarterly EPS of $0.43 versus $0.29 expected and revenue of $37.03 million versus $31.06 million forecast. Company insiders also bought 16,000 shares over the past 90 days.

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share on Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 20.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th.

Runway Growth Finance has a dividend payout ratio of 85.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect Runway Growth Finance to earn $1.30 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 101.5%.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ RWAY opened at $6.56 on Thursday. Runway Growth Finance has a 12 month low of $5.19 and a 12 month high of $10.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $6.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.93 million, a PE ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Runway Growth Finance news, CFO Carmela Thomson bought 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.97 per share, with a total value of $55,760.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 12,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,494.80. The trade was a 165.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Rovner bought 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.57 per share, with a total value of $45,990.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,990. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 16,000 shares of company stock worth $108,640. Insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. North Ground Capital acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the second quarter worth $4,084,080. SBE LLC DBA Cedar Cove Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 11.4% in the third quarter. SBE LLC DBA Cedar Cove Wealth Partners now owns 307,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,032,000 after acquiring an additional 31,482 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the second quarter valued at $1,561,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,044,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $983,000. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Runway Growth Finance Company Profile

Runway Growth Finance Corp. is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to growth-oriented companies, primarily in the technology, life sciences, healthcare, products and services sectors. The company seeks to support businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing or require capital to fund expansion, acquisitions, product development and other strategic initiatives.

Its investment activity is centered on senior secured loans, including term loans and other structured debt investments.

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