Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Runway Growth Finance, with two sell, three hold and two buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is $8.40, though recent targets range from $5.50 to $11.00.
• Runway Growth Finance exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.43 in EPS versus a $0.29 estimate and revenue of $37.03 million versus $31.06 million expected.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33, equivalent to a 19.9% annualized yield. CFO Carmela Thomson also bought 8,000 shares at an average price of $6.97, while institutional investors own 64.61% of the stock.

Shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.40.

RWAY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Runway Growth Finance from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price objective (up from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Bank of America downgraded Runway Growth Finance from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Runway Growth Finance from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Runway Growth Finance to $6.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Runway Growth Finance

In other news, CFO Carmela Thomson bought 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.97 per share, for a total transaction of $55,760.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $89,494.80. This represents a 165.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 4.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 2.2% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 46,333 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares during the period. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC now owns 22,929 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Runway Growth Finance stock opened at $6.64 on Friday. Runway Growth Finance has a 1-year low of $5.19 and a 1-year high of $10.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $5.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.28 million, a PE ratio of 60.37 and a beta of 0.66.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $37.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.06 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.73% and a net margin of 5.82%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Runway Growth Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently 1,200.00%.

Runway Growth Finance Company Profile

Runway Growth Finance, Inc is a publicly traded business development company that provides customized debt and equity financing solutions to high‐growth, venture‐backed companies. The firm specializes in structuring senior secured loans, unitranche facilities, second‐lien financings, convertible notes and equity co‐investments designed to extend the cash runway for late‐stage companies. Runway’s flexible capital offerings are aimed at supporting technology, life sciences and other innovation‐driven sectors as they pursue growth initiatives and prepare for liquidity events.

Originally launched in 2017 under the name Saratoga Investment Corp., the company rebranded as Runway Growth Finance in 2020 following the acquisition of an established middle‐market credit manager.

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