WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.39 (NASDAQ:WHF)

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WHF) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of 0.385 per share by the investment management company on Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th.

WhiteHorse Finance has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. WhiteHorse Finance has a payout ratio of 92.2% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Research analysts expect WhiteHorse Finance to earn $1.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 92.8%.

WhiteHorse Finance Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ WHF traded down $0.20 on Thursday, hitting $12.92. 148,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,433. 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 12 month low of $11.30 and a 12 month high of $13.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.58 and a 200-day moving average of $12.49. The company has a market cap of $300.30 million, a PE ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.24.

WhiteHorse Finance (NASDAQ:WHF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The investment management company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46. The company had revenue of $25.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.33 million. WhiteHorse Finance had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 19.77%. As a group, analysts forecast that WhiteHorse Finance will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of WhiteHorse Finance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.81.

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.