Insider Buying: New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) Director Acquires 186,905 Shares of Stock

New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) Director Steven Klinsky purchased 186,905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.17 per share, with a total value of $1,527,013.85. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,878,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,860,956.14. This represents a 3.98% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

New Mountain Finance Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:NMFC traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $8.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,445,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,181,129. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.66 and a 200 day moving average of $9.35. The company has a market capitalization of $835.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.00 and a beta of 0.59. New Mountain Finance Corporation has a one year low of $7.52 and a one year high of $11.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

New Mountain Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance’s payout ratio is presently 853.33%.

Institutional Trading of New Mountain Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,986,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,508,000 after purchasing an additional 353,062 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in New Mountain Finance by 4.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,589,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,966,000 after buying an additional 115,004 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,038,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,776,000 after acquiring an additional 443,016 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,541,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,194,000 after acquiring an additional 385,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Mountain Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $12,326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About New Mountain Finance

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.