New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's What Happened

Shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . 359,153 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the previous session's volume of 337,883 shares.The stock last traded at $11.94 and had previously closed at $11.94.

New Mountain Finance Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $11.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.15.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). New Mountain Finance had a net margin of 30.28% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The company had revenue of $92.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.23 million. Equities analysts expect that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.99%. New Mountain Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven B. Klinsky purchased 72,280 shares of New Mountain Finance stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.28 per share, for a total transaction of $815,318.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,285,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,340,496.40. This trade represents a 1.72 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 95,104 shares of company stock worth $1,083,334 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in New Mountain Finance by 2.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,823,925 shares of the company's stock worth $45,811,000 after purchasing an additional 100,315 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of New Mountain Finance by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,249,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,980,000 after acquiring an additional 168,719 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of New Mountain Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at $375,000. Rockingstone Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 79.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 282,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 124,599 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in New Mountain Finance during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. 32.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About New Mountain Finance

New Mountain Finance Corporation Nasdaq: NMFC, a business development company is a private equity / buyouts and loan fund specializes in directly investing and lending to middle market companies in defensive growth industries. The fund prefers investing in buyout and middle market companies. It also makes investments in debt securities at all levels of the capital structure including first and second lien debt, unsecured notes, and mezzanine securities.