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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.80 per share, for a total transaction of $47,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 67,000 shares in the company, valued at $455,600. This represents a 11.67% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Performance

Shares of WHF opened at $7.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.00. The stock has a market cap of $165.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. has a one year low of $6.39 and a one year high of $11.31.

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

WhiteHorse Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.1%. WhiteHorse Finance’s payout ratio is currently 232.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings 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 valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 6,460 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 190.8% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 21,418 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 45,018 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 27.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WHF. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of WhiteHorse Finance from $8.00 to $6.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.75.

About WhiteHorse Finance

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.