Stifel Financial Corp Takes $471,000 Position in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY)

Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 43,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $471,000. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.12% of Runway Growth Finance at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RWAY. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,261,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter valued at $1,828,000. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 129,377 shares of the company's stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 67,010 shares during the period. HTLF Bank increased its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 135.7% in the fourth quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 88,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 51,071 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 53.5% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 74,832 shares of the company's stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 26,093 shares during the period. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ RWAY traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.12. 500,440 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 321,889. The stock has a market cap of $377.95 million, a P/E ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 1-year low of $8.35 and a 1-year high of $12.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.50.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.06. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 27.05%. The business had revenue of $35.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.83 million. On average, analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Runway Growth Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RWAY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Runway Growth Finance presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.08.

Runway Growth Finance Company Profile

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.