WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Short Interest Update

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 343,434 shares, a decrease of 15.5% from the March 31st total of 406,377 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 123,230 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Performance

WhiteHorse Finance stock opened at $7.60 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $168.95 million, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.41. WhiteHorse Finance has a fifty-two week low of $6.07 and a fifty-two week high of $9.68.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The investment management company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $17.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 million. WhiteHorse Finance had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 9.66%. On average, equities research analysts expect that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WhiteHorse Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.2%. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 161.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $7.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WhiteHorse Finance news, CEO Stuart D. Aronson purchased 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.95 per share, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 80,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,000. This represents a 11.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John Bolduc bought 8,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.12 per share, for a total transaction of $59,736.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 284,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,026,473.04. This represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 47,448 shares of company stock worth $337,673 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

WhiteHorse Finance Company Profile

WhiteHorse Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: WHF) is a closed-end management investment company organized as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The firm’s primary objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation by making debt and equity investments in privately held middle-market companies. WhiteHorse Finance seeks to partner with established businesses across a range of industries, providing flexible financing solutions designed to support growth initiatives, acquisitions and recapitalizations.

The company’s investment portfolio predominantly comprises senior secured loans, second-lien debt, subordinated debt and select equity interests.