Stuart Aronson Acquires 10,000 Shares of WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) Stock

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) CEO Stuart Aronson bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.90 per share, for a total transaction of $69,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $414,000. This represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

WhiteHorse Finance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WHF opened at $7.10 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $7.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $165.00 million, a PE ratio of 16.51 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.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The investment management company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.03). The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WhiteHorse Finance Cuts Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.1%. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 232.56%.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WHF. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in WhiteHorse Finance in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the second quarter worth approximately $87,000. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the second quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position in WhiteHorse Finance by 190.8% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 21,418 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 45,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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