WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• WhiteHorse Finance shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $7.26 before closing at $7.10, compared with the $7.00 average.
• Analysts remain cautious: the consensus rating is “Reduce”, with a $7.25 target price; recent ratings include two Holds, two Sells, and an Underweight designation.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, equating to a 14.1% annualized yield, although its 126.58% payout ratio exceeds reported earnings.

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $7.00 and traded as high as $7.26. WhiteHorse Finance shares last traded at $7.10, with a volume of 68,697 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Down 2.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.51 million, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.38.

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

WhiteHorse Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. WhiteHorse Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.58%.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WHF. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the second quarter worth $1,240,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the second quarter worth about $1,172,000. Lalia Capital LLC bought a new position in WhiteHorse Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,776,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $294,000. Institutional investors own 13.20% of the company's stock.

About WhiteHorse Finance

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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