WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) CEO Purchases $96,880.00 in Stock

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) CEO Stuart Aronson bought 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.92 per share, for a total transaction of $96,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $346,000. This trade represents a 38.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WHF traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.04. 142,990 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 102,248. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.38. WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. has a one year low of $6.39 and a one year high of $11.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $163.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.94 and a beta of 0.79.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The investment management company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.03). WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 4.36%.The company had revenue of $17.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 million. Research analysts anticipate that WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WhiteHorse Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.2%. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 232.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WHF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of WhiteHorse Finance from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded WhiteHorse Finance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on WhiteHorse Finance from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 231,140 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 49,893 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the third quarter worth about $75,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 8.2% in the third quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 222,454 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 16,781 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in WhiteHorse Finance by 11.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 75,437 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $105,000. 13.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About WhiteHorse Finance

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc is business development company, non-diversified, closed end management company specializing in originating senior secured loans, lower middle market, growth capital industries. It invests in broadline retail, office services and supplies, building products, health care services, health care supplies, research and consulting services, application software, home furnishings, specialized consumer services, data processing and outsourced services, leisure facilities, cable, and satellite.