WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 57.0% in September

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 410,682 shares, an increase of 57.0% from the September 15th total of 261,645 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 114,648 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Performance

WHF stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $7.56. 90,615 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 112,782. The company has a market capitalization of $162.39 million, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. WhiteHorse Finance has a twelve month low of $6.07 and a twelve month high of $7.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.99.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The investment management company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.03). WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 26.88%. The company had revenue of $14.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WhiteHorse Finance will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

WhiteHorse Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. WhiteHorse Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WhiteHorse Finance

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lalia Capital LLC bought a new stake in WhiteHorse Finance during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,776,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,240,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the second quarter worth about $1,172,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in WhiteHorse Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $477,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WhiteHorse Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $294,000. 13.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WHF shares. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on WhiteHorse Finance from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on WhiteHorse Finance from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.25.

About WhiteHorse Finance

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc (NASDAQ: WHF) is a business development company that provides financing to privately owned, primarily lower-middle-market companies. The company seeks to generate income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation through investments in a range of industries.

WhiteHorse Finance primarily invests in senior secured loans, including first-lien and second-lien loans, as well as subordinated debt and selected equity investments. Its financing may support acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth initiatives, refinancing transactions and other general corporate purposes.

The company focuses mainly on U.S.-based middle-market businesses and works with companies that may have limited access to traditional bank financing.