Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.08.

RWAY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Up 1.0%

RWAY traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $10.07. 153,228 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 320,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.08 million, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.50. Runway Growth Finance has a 1 year low of $8.35 and a 1 year high of $12.17.

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

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Runway Growth Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.52%.

Institutional Trading of Runway Growth Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RWAY. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the first quarter worth $63,000. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter worth $113,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter worth $114,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter worth $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.61% of the company's stock.

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.