WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Short Interest Up 22.5% in May

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 210,300 shares, a growth of 22.5% from the April 30th total of 171,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 92,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

WhiteHorse Finance Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WHF stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 90,515. The company has a market cap of $209.42 million, a PE ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.93. WhiteHorse Finance has a 52 week low of $8.44 and a 52 week high of $13.28.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The investment management company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $18.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.98 million. WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 12.86% and a net margin of 10.65%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WhiteHorse Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. WhiteHorse Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 394.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WhiteHorse Finance

In other news, Director John Bolduc purchased 22,360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.94 per share, for a total transaction of $199,898.40. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 237,885 shares in the company, valued at $2,126,691.90. This trade represents a 10.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in WhiteHorse Finance by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 49,460 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 60,839 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,182 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 42,772 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 19,418 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of WhiteHorse Finance from $9.50 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

WhiteHorse Finance Company Profile

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.