Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) Receives $23.63 Average Target Price from Analysts

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.6250.

SAR has been the subject of several research reports. B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on Saratoga Investment from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 100.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Saratoga Investment by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 61,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 9,199 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 49,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 4,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 19,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the period. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SAR opened at $23.40 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.20 and a 200-day moving average of $23.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $378.53 million, a P/E ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.56. Saratoga Investment has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $26.17.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $23.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.35 million. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 30.61%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 122.95%.

About Saratoga Investment

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.