New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) has received a consensus rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with one sell rating and five hold ratings, and an average 12-month price target of $10.60.
• Insider transactions saw EVP Adam B. Weinstein and Director Steven B. Klinsky purchasing significant shares of NMFC, indicating confidence in the company's future; the two executives increased their ownership by 8.25% and 2.50%, respectively.
• The company recently announced a $0.32 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 13.7%, though this results in a high payout ratio of 168.42%.

New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.60.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer set a $11.00 price objective on shares of New Mountain Finance and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down previously from $11.75) on shares of New Mountain Finance in a research note on Monday, September 15th.

Insider Transactions at New Mountain Finance

In other New Mountain Finance news, EVP Adam B. Weinstein bought 49,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.03 per share, with a total value of $498,992.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 652,490 shares in the company, valued at $6,544,474.70. The trade was a 8.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 106,691 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $1,043,437.98. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,370,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,746,981.46. This trade represents a 2.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 157,191 shares of company stock worth $1,550,035. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of New Mountain Finance

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 0.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 260,572 shares of the company's stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 3.8% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 32,438 shares of the company's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 1.3% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 96,603 shares of the company's stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 2.9% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 48,144 shares of the company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 5.1% during the second quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 28,812 shares of the company's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. 32.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Mountain Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NMFC traded down $0.27 on Friday, hitting $9.34. 965,796 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 511,931. The company's 50 day moving average price is $10.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.37. New Mountain Finance has a one year low of $8.84 and a one year high of $12.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $993.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.79.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. New Mountain Finance had a net margin of 23.27% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $83.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that New Mountain Finance will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

New Mountain Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.7%. New Mountain Finance's payout ratio is presently 168.42%.

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.

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