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

Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, an increase of 44.1% from the March 15th total of 1,450,000 shares. Approximately 5.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 329,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Runway Growth Finance Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:RWAY traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.36. The company had a trading volume of 253,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 335,560. The stock has a market capitalization of $349.57 million, a P/E ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $10.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Runway Growth Finance has a one year low of $8.35 and a one year high of $13.50.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $33.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.10 million. Runway Growth Finance had a net margin of 27.05% and a return on equity of 12.91%. Equities research analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Runway Growth Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a dividend yield of 15.1%. Runway Growth Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Runway Growth Finance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Runway Growth Finance by 53.5% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 74,832 shares of the company's stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 26,093 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank raised its stake in Runway Growth Finance by 135.7% during the fourth quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 88,720 shares of the company's stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 51,071 shares during the period. Round Rock Advisors LLC bought a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $386,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $916,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Runway Growth Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,261,000. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Runway Growth Finance from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Runway Growth Finance from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.67.

Runway Growth Finance Company 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.