M&T Bank Corp Buys Shares of 17,000 Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY)

M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance Corp. (NASDAQ:RWAY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the first quarter valued at $63,000. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $113,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $114,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Runway Growth Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $116,000. 64.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Runway Growth Finance Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of RWAY opened at $11.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $10.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.20 million, a P/E ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 0.70. Runway Growth Finance Corp. has a 1-year low of $8.35 and a 1-year high of $12.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $35.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.83 million. Runway Growth Finance had a return on equity of 11.95% and a net margin of 45.30%. Analysts expect that Runway Growth Finance Corp. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Runway Growth Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.82%. Runway Growth Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley upgraded Runway Growth Finance to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Compass Point raised their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Runway Growth Finance from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $9.50 price target (down from $10.00) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 price target (up from $11.50) on shares of Runway Growth Finance in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Runway Growth Finance has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.75.

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.