WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (WHF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 on January 5th

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) announced a quarterly dividend on Sunday, November 9th. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the investment management company on Monday, January 5th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd.

WhiteHorse Finance has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. WhiteHorse Finance has a dividend payout ratio of 87.7% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect WhiteHorse Finance to earn $1.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 68.5%.

WhiteHorse Finance Price Performance

Shares of WHF stock opened at $7.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. WhiteHorse Finance has a 52-week low of $6.39 and a 52-week high of $11.31. The stock has a market cap of $167.10 million, a PE ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 0.56.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The investment management company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.03). WhiteHorse Finance had a net margin of 12.91% and a return on equity of 9.93%. The company had revenue of $17.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.43 million. As a group, analysts forecast that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WHF. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target 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.