Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) Short Interest Update

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,219,204 shares, a decrease of 17.4% from the March 31st total of 3,898,266 shares. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 903,795 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Performance

Runway Growth Finance stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.85. The company had a trading volume of 433,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,837. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Runway Growth Finance has a 12-month low of $6.36 and a 12-month high of $11.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $7.08 and its 200-day moving average is $8.51. The company has a market capitalization of $247.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 0.72.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 24.79%.The company had revenue of $30.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.60 million. Equities research analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 19.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $9.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial cut their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research lowered Runway Growth Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

Institutional Trading of Runway Growth Finance

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RWAY. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 92.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Runway Growth Finance by 74,437.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the period. 64.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Runway Growth Finance Company 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.