Stuart Aronson Buys 7,000 Shares of WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) Stock

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) CEO Stuart Aronson purchased 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.80 per share, for a total transaction of $47,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 67,000 shares in the company, valued at $455,600. The trade was a 11.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

WhiteHorse Finance Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of WHF traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.78. 450,281 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,261. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.20 and a 200-day moving average of $8.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.57 million, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.56. WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.39 and a 1-year high of $11.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The investment management company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $17.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 million. WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 9.93% and a net margin of 12.91%. Analysts expect that WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

WhiteHorse Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 232.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WHF shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of WhiteHorse Finance from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the second quarter valued at $87,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 205,673 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,616 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 156,602 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after buying an additional 6,560 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 11.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 75,437 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the third quarter worth $75,000. Institutional investors own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

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.