Short Interest in WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Grows By 188.3%

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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 trading volume of 75,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WHF. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 812,395 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $10,074,000 after purchasing an additional 58,463 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in WhiteHorse Finance by 121.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 62,643 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 34,353 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WhiteHorse Finance during the 4th quarter worth about $89,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,198 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 61,800 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 20,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.20% of the company’s stock.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Performance

WhiteHorse Finance stock opened at $12.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $299.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. WhiteHorse Finance has a 12-month low of $11.13 and a 12-month high of $13.69.

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

WhiteHorse Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.385 per share. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 175.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

WhiteHorse Finance Company Profile

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.