Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Mickey Schleien has upgraded WhiteHorse Finance Inc. to "buy" from "neutral" after the company posted fourth-quarter 2017 results that surpassed his expectations.
The analyst told investors that the company's net investment income per share of 33 cents beat his forecast by 1 cent, though it fell just short of the consensus estimate of 34 cents. He said WhiteHorse was able to beat his expectations due to higher fee income driving a 4% quarter-over-quarter increase in investment income.
Schleien added that the company had three new originations and a follow-on refinancing for a total of $23 million. He also pointed out that WhiteHorse executives continue to maintain that recent changes to the tax code have not impacted demand for leveraged loans.
The analyst's price target on the stock is $12.50, and his full-year EPS estimate for 2018 is $1.38.
