New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) Shares Acquired by Rockingstone Advisors LLC

Rockingstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC - Free Report) by 79.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 282,107 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 124,599 shares during the period. New Mountain Finance makes up approximately 1.4% of Rockingstone Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Rockingstone Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.26% of New Mountain Finance worth $3,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NMFC. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in New Mountain Finance by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 429,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in New Mountain Finance by 1.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,081,000 after purchasing an additional 15,988 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the third quarter worth $2,608,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at about $168,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of New Mountain Finance in the third quarter worth approximately $375,000. 32.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

New Mountain Finance Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NMFC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.22. 273,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 384,464. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.45 and a 200 day moving average of $11.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.15. New Mountain Finance Co. has a 1-year low of $10.61 and a 1-year high of $13.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 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 $95.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

New Mountain Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from New Mountain Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. New Mountain Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Kline bought 41,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.92 per share, with a total value of $453,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 351,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,841,470.36. This represents a 13.39 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven B. Klinsky acquired 150,609 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $1,637,119.83. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,632,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,483,383.62. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 324,530 shares of company stock valued at $3,603,675 in the last 90 days. 10.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on New Mountain Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

New Mountain Finance Profile

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.