New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NMFC. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.25.

New Mountain Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NMFC stock opened at $7.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $8.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.02. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $773.70 million, a PE ratio of 50.00 and a beta of 0.59. New Mountain Finance has a 52-week low of $7.47 and a 52-week high of $11.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Laura C. Holson Boswerger acquired 12,500 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.74 per share, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer directly owned 81,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,172.20. This trade represents a 18.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Adam B. Weinstein acquired 12,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.61 per share, for a total transaction of $98,169.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 751,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,720,863.16. This represents a 1.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,200,673 shares of company stock worth $9,662,634. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of New Mountain Finance by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 606,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,844,000 after acquiring an additional 114,840 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in New Mountain Finance by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,382,000 after purchasing an additional 363,443 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in New Mountain Finance by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 643,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,788,000 after purchasing an additional 98,603 shares in the last quarter. Dimension Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 17.0% during the second quarter. Dimension Capital Management LLC now owns 950,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,023,000 after purchasing an additional 138,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 17.1% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 480,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 70,277 shares during the last quarter. 32.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

New Mountain Finance Company Profile

New Mountain Finance Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed business development company (BDC) that provides customized debt and equity capital solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC organized under the Investment Company Act of 1940, New Mountain Finance invests in sponsor-backed and founder-led businesses that span a range of industry sectors, with a focus on companies demonstrating resilient growth and recurring revenue streams.

The company’s investment portfolio typically includes first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien and junior debt instruments, mezzanine financing and equity co-investments.