WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) Share Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• WhiteHorse Finance shares briefly moved above their 200-day moving average of $6.99, reaching $7.00 before trading at $6.86. Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $7.25.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $0.22 in EPS versus a $0.25 estimate and revenue of $14.37 million versus $15.66 million expected.
• WhiteHorse Finance declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, implying a 14.6% annualized yield; however, its 126.58% payout ratio may raise sustainability concerns.

Shares of WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $6.99 and traded as high as $7.00. WhiteHorse Finance shares last traded at $6.86, with a volume of 76,764 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on WhiteHorse Finance from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of WhiteHorse Finance from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $7.25.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $147.35 million, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.99.

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

WhiteHorse Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.6%. WhiteHorse Finance's dividend payout ratio is 126.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,172,000. Lalia Capital LLC acquired a new stake in WhiteHorse Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,776,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $477,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Finally, Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $286,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.20% of the company's stock.

WhiteHorse Finance Company Profile

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc NASDAQ: WHF is a business development company that provides financing to privately owned, primarily middle-market companies. The company invests in businesses across a range of industries, with an emphasis on generating current income and, to a lesser extent, long-term capital appreciation.

WhiteHorse Finance's investment portfolio generally consists of senior secured loans, subordinated debt and other structured investments. It may also make equity investments in portfolio companies.

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