Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 244,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,282 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Runway Growth Finance worth $2,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 33.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in Runway Growth Finance by 18.5% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 16,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Runway Growth Finance during the first quarter valued at $323,000. Finally, HTLF Bank bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance during the second quarter valued at $439,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.61% of the company’s stock.

Runway Growth Finance Price Performance

Shares of RWAY stock opened at $10.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.85 million, a P/E ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 52-week low of $9.87 and a 52-week high of $13.74.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $34.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.62 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 19.32% and a return on equity of 13.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 210.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R David Spreng acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.17 per share, with a total value of $50,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,532 shares in the company, valued at $707,140.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RWAY has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $12.50 to $11.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Compass Point raised Runway Growth Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $12.75 to $11.25 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Runway Growth Finance in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.96.

Runway Growth Finance Profile

Runway Growth Finance Corp. is a business development company specializing investments in senior-secured loans to late stage and growth companies. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the technology, life sciences, healthcare and information services, business services and select consumer services and products sectors.