Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.6250.

A number of analysts recently commented on SAR shares. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Saratoga Investment to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th.

Saratoga Investment Stock Up 1.7%

SAR stock opened at $23.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.86 and a 200-day moving average of $23.78. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $26.17. The company has a market capitalization of $385.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $31.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.35 million. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 30.61% and a return on equity of 9.19%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.95%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAR. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the second quarter worth $845,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 21.4% in the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 39,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $990,000 after buying an additional 7,040 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the second quarter valued at $242,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 3.6% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 31,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

Saratoga Investment Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed investment company that seeks to generate current income and total return through a diversified portfolio of private U.S. companies. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAR, the firm primarily targets middle-market businesses across a broad range of industries, including industrials, healthcare, consumer products, financial services and technology. Its investment approach combines debt and equity instruments, providing flexible capital solutions such as first-lien and second-lien secured loans, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and common equity positions.

As an actively managed vehicle, Saratoga Investment works closely with portfolio companies’ management teams to support growth initiatives, operational improvements, and strategic transactions.