New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:NMFC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,328,255 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the February 26th total of 1,946,797 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,689,409 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NMFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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 restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of New Mountain Finance in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut New Mountain Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on New Mountain Finance from $10.00 to $7.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, New Mountain Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at New Mountain Finance

In other news, Director Steven B. Klinsky bought 276,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.05 per share, for a total transaction of $2,223,748.10. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,370,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,235,406.90. This trade represents a 5.42% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Laura C. Holson Boswerger purchased 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.74 per share, with a total value of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 81,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,172.20. This trade represents a 18.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 1,200,673 shares of company stock valued at $9,662,634 in the last 90 days. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On New Mountain Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NMFC. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of New Mountain Finance by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,986,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,508,000 after buying an additional 353,062 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in New Mountain Finance by 4.6% during the 3rd 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 27.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 33.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,326,000. 32.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

New Mountain Finance Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ NMFC opened at $7.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $758.53 million, a P/E ratio of 51.33 and a beta of 0.59. New Mountain Finance has a one year low of $7.47 and a one year high of $11.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 3.16.

New Mountain Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 16.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. New Mountain Finance’s payout ratio is 853.33%.

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.