WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) Raises Dividend to $0.39 Per Share

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) announced a -- dividend on Thursday, November 7th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of 0.385 per share by the investment management company on Friday, January 3rd. This represents a yield of 13.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is a positive change from WhiteHorse Finance's previous -- dividend of $0.05.

WhiteHorse Finance has increased its dividend by an average of 8.4% per year over the last three years. WhiteHorse Finance has a dividend payout ratio of 104.8% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect WhiteHorse Finance to earn $1.48 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 104.1%.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of WHF traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.07. The stock had a trading volume of 204,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 82,028. The company has a market capitalization of $257.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.19. WhiteHorse Finance has a 12 month low of $10.95 and a 12 month high of $13.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The investment management company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.05). WhiteHorse Finance had a net margin of 22.73% and a return on equity of 13.12%. The firm had revenue of $23.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WhiteHorse Finance

In other WhiteHorse Finance news, Director John Bolduc purchased 12,673 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.48 per share, for a total transaction of $145,486.04. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 224,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,262.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WHF shares. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of WhiteHorse Finance in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on WhiteHorse Finance from $12.50 to $11.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.75.

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.