WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Short Interest Up 23.6% in March

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 129,300 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the March 15th total of 104,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 64,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

WhiteHorse Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WHF opened at $12.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $285.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.28. WhiteHorse Finance has a 1 year low of $11.13 and a 1 year high of $13.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.46.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The investment management company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. The company had revenue of $25.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.33 million. WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 19.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WhiteHorse Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 175.00%.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHF. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 1,130.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in WhiteHorse Finance during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in WhiteHorse Finance by 342.3% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,683 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 5,172 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 17.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 6,167 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. 13.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WHF. B. Riley lowered WhiteHorse Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.25 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded WhiteHorse Finance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on WhiteHorse Finance from $12.00 to $11.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.81.

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.