Short Interest in WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Decreases By 35.2%

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of 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 trading volume, of 85,369 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WHF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on WhiteHorse Finance from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.50.

Insider Transactions at WhiteHorse Finance

In related news, Director John Bolduc bought 15,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,816.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 317,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,059,257.53. The trade was a 5.09% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart D. Aronson bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.67 per share, with a total value of $133,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $667,000. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 94,940 shares of company stock worth $627,568 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WhiteHorse Finance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHF. Lalia Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the 4th quarter worth about $4,628,000. CastleKnight Management LP bought a new stake in WhiteHorse Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $2,033,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in WhiteHorse Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $929,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in WhiteHorse Finance by 92.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 88,659 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in WhiteHorse Finance by 27.5% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 231,140 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after purchasing an additional 49,893 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Performance

WhiteHorse Finance stock opened at $6.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $142.84 million, a P/E ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.37. WhiteHorse Finance has a 1-year low of $6.07 and a 1-year high of $9.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.93 and a 200-day moving average of $6.99.

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

WhiteHorse Finance Dividend Announcement

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

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.