New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks upgraded New Mountain Finance (NMFC) from "strong sell" to "hold", but several firms cut price targets and the stock's consensus rating remains "Reduce" with a consensus price target of $9.25.
• Q1 results showed EPS of $0.32 (in line with estimates) while revenue of $41.27M missed the $67.76M estimate and fell 19.7% year‑over‑year, producing a negative net margin of -18.65%.
• Significant insider buying: Director Steven B. Klinsky purchased 276,242 shares (~$2.22M), insiders bought ~1.2M shares (~$9.66M) in the past 90 days, and insiders now own 14.90% of the stock.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NMFC. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded New Mountain Finance from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $9.25.

New Mountain Finance Price Performance

NASDAQ:NMFC opened at $8.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $797.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.55 and a beta of 0.57. New Mountain Finance has a 1 year low of $7.47 and a 1 year high of $11.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 3.16.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $41.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.76 million. New Mountain Finance had a positive return on equity of 11.14% and a negative net margin of 18.65%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that New Mountain Finance will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven B. Klinsky acquired 276,242 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.05 per share, for a total transaction of $2,223,748.10. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,370,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,235,406.90. This trade represents a 5.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Laura C. Holson Boswerger acquired 12,500 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.74 per share, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 81,030 shares in the company, valued at $627,172.20. This trade represents a 18.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 1,200,673 shares of company stock worth $9,662,634 in the last ninety days. 14.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NMFC. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth $12,326,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth $7,450,000. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth $5,398,000. Truffle Hound Capital LLC purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter worth $5,066,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,038,662 shares of the company's stock worth $18,776,000 after purchasing an additional 443,016 shares during the period. 32.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Mountain Finance Company Profile

New Mountain Finance Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that provides customized debt and equity capital solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, New Mountain Finance invests in sponsor-backed and founder-led businesses that span a range of industry sectors, with a focus on companies demonstrating resilient growth and recurring revenue streams.

The company's investment portfolio typically includes first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien and junior debt instruments, mezzanine financing and equity co-investments.

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