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

New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 916,055 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 133% from the previous session’s volume of 392,706 shares.The stock last traded at $11.14 and had previously closed at $11.12.

New Mountain Finance Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.49 and its 200-day moving average is $11.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.16. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). New Mountain Finance had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 30.28%. The company had revenue of $92.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.23 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.54%. New Mountain Finance’s payout ratio is 123.08%.

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 stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.28 per share, for a total transaction of $815,318.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,285,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,340,496.40. This trade represents a 1.72 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Ogens acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.44 per share, with a total value of $57,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 179,020 shares in the company, valued at $2,047,988.80. The trade was a 2.87 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 10.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On New Mountain Finance

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in New Mountain Finance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $114,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in New Mountain Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $123,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of New Mountain Finance by 4,746.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 10,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 10,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $129,000. 32.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

New Mountain Finance Company 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.