Runway Growth Finance Corp. $RWAY Shares Bought by North Ground Capital

North Ground Capital increased its stake in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) by 48.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 775,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 253,500 shares during the period. Runway Growth Finance makes up approximately 4.9% of North Ground Capital’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. North Ground Capital’s holdings in Runway Growth Finance were worth $7,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RWAY. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,842,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 0.4% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 461,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,957,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 32.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 379,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after acquiring an additional 93,755 shares in the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,615,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 122,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 6,231 shares in the last quarter. 64.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.10.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Down 2.1%

RWAY stock opened at $9.39 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.02. The company has a market cap of $339.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.67. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 12-month low of $8.35 and a 12-month high of $11.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $36.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.11 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 38.92% and a return on equity of 11.94%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Runway Growth Finance’s payout ratio is currently 89.80%.

Runway Growth Finance 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.