WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) CEO Stuart Aronson Acquires 8,000 Shares

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) CEO Stuart Aronson bought 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.95 per share, for a total transaction of $55,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 80,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,000. This represents a 11.11% 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 hyperlink.

WhiteHorse Finance Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of WhiteHorse Finance stock opened at $7.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.12. The stock has a market cap of $162.75 million, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.56. WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.07 and a 1-year high of $9.95.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The investment management company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 19.73%.The firm had revenue of $17.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.91 million. Analysts predict that WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WhiteHorse Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.7%. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 161.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WhiteHorse Finance

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WHF. HRT Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 19,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in WhiteHorse Finance in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in WhiteHorse Finance by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 18,634 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 5,665 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in WhiteHorse Finance by 35.9% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 24,457 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 6,460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WHF. Zacks Research raised shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.75.

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.