D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 66,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $729,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.18% of Runway Growth Finance as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWAY. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 920.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 17,356 shares of the company's stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 15,655 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 19,744 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 8,572 shares during the period. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Runway Growth Finance stock traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $9.85. The company had a trading volume of 244,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,219. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.55 and a 200-day moving average of $10.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $367.87 million, a P/E ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.63. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a twelve month low of $8.35 and a twelve month high of $12.17.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $35.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.83 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 12.91%. Research analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Runway Growth Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on RWAY. UBS Group dropped their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $9.50 price target (down previously from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Wednesday. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.70.

About Runway Growth Finance

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.