WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• WhiteHorse Finance has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from five brokerage firms, including one sell rating and four hold ratings, with an average price target of $10.00.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.28 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.03, and had revenue of $18.84 million, below the expected $19.33 million.
• WhiteHorse Finance announced a quarterly dividend of $0.385, yielding 17.6%, but has a very high dividend payout ratio of 1,026.67%.

Shares of WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.00.

WHF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of WhiteHorse Finance from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised WhiteHorse Finance to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WhiteHorse Finance

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHF. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the 4th quarter valued at about $407,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in WhiteHorse Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in WhiteHorse Finance by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,570 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in WhiteHorse Finance by 208.3% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 37,300 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 25,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the 4th quarter worth $241,000. 13.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of WHF stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $8.79. The stock had a trading volume of 65,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,465. WhiteHorse Finance has a one year low of $8.36 and a one year high of $12.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.20. The company has a market cap of $204.28 million, a PE ratio of 58.60 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The investment management company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.03). WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 4.36%.The business had revenue of $18.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.33 million. Research analysts anticipate 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 Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.385 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.5%. WhiteHorse Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,026.67%.

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.