Bulldog Investors LLP Buys 472,799 Shares of Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY)

Bulldog Investors LLP increased its stake in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Free Report) by 143.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 802,390 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 472,799 shares during the quarter. Runway Growth Finance makes up approximately 2.4% of Bulldog Investors LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Bulldog Investors LLP owned 2.15% of Runway Growth Finance worth $8,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CF Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $9,290,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $411,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $679,000. Ares Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 439,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,822,000 after acquiring an additional 135,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.61% of the company's stock.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

RWAY traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $8.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 259,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,315. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 12 month low of $8.35 and a 12 month high of $12.57. The stock has a market cap of $335.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $33.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.10 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 12.91%. Sell-side analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 15.1%. Runway Growth Finance's payout ratio is 69.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Runway Growth Finance currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.08.

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.