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

Key Points

• North Ground Capital increased its holdings in Runway Growth Finance Corp. by 23.9%, owning a total of 1,050,000 shares, which accounts for about 10.6% of its total investments.
• Runway Growth Finance declared a new dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in a significant yield of 1,200.0%, up from its previous dividend of $0.03.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with target prices ranging from $9.50 to $12.50.

North Ground Capital raised its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Free Report) by 23.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,050,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 202,338 shares during the period. Runway Growth Finance makes up 10.6% of North Ground Capital's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. North Ground Capital owned approximately 2.81% of Runway Growth Finance worth $10,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance during the first quarter valued at about $4,551,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $679,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 268,306 shares of the company's stock worth $2,941,000 after acquiring an additional 26,072 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter worth $729,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,205,000. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on RWAY shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $12.50 price objective (up previously from $11.50) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Runway Growth Finance to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $9.50 target price (down from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on Runway Growth Finance from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.00.

Runway Growth Finance Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ RWAY traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.89. 292,219 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 315,143. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.36. The company has a market capitalization of $394.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.70. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 12 month low of $8.35 and a 12 month high of $11.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $35.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.27 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.86% and a net margin of 51.03%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.2%. This is an increase from Runway Growth Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Runway Growth Finance's payout ratio is presently 69.47%.

Runway Growth Finance 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.