WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Short Interest Down 35.2% in June

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) saw a significant drop in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 246,080 shares, a drop of 35.2% from the May 31st total of 379,534 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 85,369 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WHF shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on WhiteHorse Finance from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stuart D. Aronson acquired 15,000 shares of WhiteHorse Finance stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.41 per share, for a total transaction of $96,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 127,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,070. This represents a 13.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Bolduc bought 15,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.49 per share, with a total value of $99,816.20. Following the acquisition, the director owned 317,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,059,257.53. This represents a 5.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 94,940 shares of company stock worth $627,568. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lalia Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 4th quarter worth $4,628,000. CastleKnight Management LP purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,033,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $929,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in WhiteHorse Finance by 92.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 185,004 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 88,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in WhiteHorse Finance by 27.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 231,140 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 49,893 shares during the last quarter. 13.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WhiteHorse Finance Price Performance

WhiteHorse Finance stock opened at $6.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.99. WhiteHorse Finance has a 12 month low of $6.07 and a 12 month high of $9.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.84 million, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.37.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The investment management company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.35 million. WhiteHorse Finance had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 9.47%. Equities analysts predict that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

WhiteHorse Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.0%. WhiteHorse Finance’s payout ratio is presently 243.90%.

WhiteHorse Finance Company Profile

WhiteHorse Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: WHF) is a closed-end management investment company organized as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The firm’s primary objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation by making debt and equity investments in privately held middle-market companies. WhiteHorse Finance seeks to partner with established businesses across a range of industries, providing flexible financing solutions designed to support growth initiatives, acquisitions and recapitalizations.

The company’s investment portfolio predominantly comprises senior secured loans, second-lien debt, subordinated debt and select equity interests.