Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.50 and traded as high as $23.56. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $23.4830, with a volume of 152,732 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Saratoga Investment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.63.

Saratoga Investment Stock Up 2.0%

The company has a market cap of $379.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.50.

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

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 122.95%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the second quarter worth about $242,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 48,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 94,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.