WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 372,800 shares, an increase of 188.3% from the March 31st total of 129,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 75,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

WhiteHorse Finance Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ WHF opened at $12.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $299.80 million, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. WhiteHorse Finance has a 52 week low of $11.13 and a 52 week high of $13.69.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The investment management company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. The firm had revenue of $25.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.33 million. WhiteHorse Finance had a net margin of 19.77% and a return on equity of 13.20%. Equities research analysts predict that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WhiteHorse Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a $0.385 dividend. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 175.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WHF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley downgraded WhiteHorse Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.25 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on WhiteHorse Finance from $12.00 to $11.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WhiteHorse Finance

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 280,450 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after buying an additional 20,882 shares during the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC boosted its stake in WhiteHorse Finance by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 60,582 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 3,668 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in WhiteHorse Finance by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,787 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 75,255 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 10,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 753,932 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $9,273,000 after purchasing an additional 44,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

About WhiteHorse Finance

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc is business development company, non-diversified, closed end management company specializing in originating senior secured loans, lower middle market, growth capital industries. It invests in broadline retail, office services and supplies, building products, health care services, health care supplies, research and consulting services, application software, home furnishings, specialized consumer services, data processing and outsourced services, leisure facilities, cable, and satellite.