WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Declares Special Dividend of $0.17

Key Points

• WhiteHorse Finance declared a special dividend of $0.17 per share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record on October 30; the ex-dividend date is also October 30.
• The dividend may face future coverage pressure: analysts expect $0.98 in next-year EPS versus $1.00 in annual dividends, implying a projected payout ratio of 102%.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with an average “Reduce” rating and a $7.25 consensus price target. The company recently missed quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $0.22 EPS versus the $0.25 consensus.

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) announced a special dividend on Tuesday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share by the investment management company on Thursday, December 10th. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th.

WhiteHorse Finance has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. WhiteHorse Finance has a dividend payout ratio of 87.7% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings fall. Research analysts expect WhiteHorse Finance to earn $0.98 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 102.0%.

WhiteHorse Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WHF opened at $7.40 on Thursday. WhiteHorse Finance has a fifty-two week low of $6.07 and a fifty-two week high of $7.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.98. The company has a market capitalization of $158.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The investment management company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). WhiteHorse Finance had a net margin of 26.88% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $14.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.66 million. Analysts expect that WhiteHorse Finance will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WHF. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research report on Friday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on WhiteHorse Finance from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on WhiteHorse Finance from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $7.25.

About WhiteHorse Finance

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc NASDAQ: WHF is a business development company that provides financing to privately owned, primarily lower-middle-market companies. The company seeks to generate income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation through investments in a range of industries.

WhiteHorse Finance primarily invests in senior secured loans, including first-lien and second-lien loans, as well as subordinated debt and selected equity investments. Its financing may support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancing transactions and other general corporate purposes.

The company focuses mainly on U.S.-based middle-market businesses and works with companies that may have limited access to traditional bank financing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.