WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 (NASDAQ:WHF)

Key Points

• WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39, which provides a substantial dividend yield of 18.2% for investors.
• The company's payout ratio is 135.1%, indicating that it cannot cover its dividend with earnings and is reliant on its balance sheet for payments.
• WhiteHorse Finance's stock is experiencing a downward trend, trading at $8.47, down 0.6%, with recent trading volumes surpassing the average.

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of 0.385 per share by the investment management company on Friday, October 3rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 18.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 19th.

WhiteHorse Finance has a payout ratio of 135.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect WhiteHorse Finance to earn $1.46 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 105.5%.

WhiteHorse Finance Price Performance

Shares of WHF traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.45. The stock had a trading volume of 25,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,504. WhiteHorse Finance has a 52 week low of $8.44 and a 52 week high of $12.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.50. The company has a market capitalization of $196.26 million, a P/E ratio of 56.30 and a beta of 0.82.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The investment management company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.03). WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 4.36%. The firm had revenue of $18.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.33 million. On average, analysts forecast that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WHF. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised WhiteHorse Finance to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. B. Riley cut their target price on WhiteHorse Finance from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.00.

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.