Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.74 and traded as high as $23.79. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $23.55, with a volume of 89,744 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Saratoga Investment to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Friday, October 10th. B. Riley lowered 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.63.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 1.1%

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 stock has a market cap of $381.04 million, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.74.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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, research analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment Corp 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid 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 12.7%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.95%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 6.8% during the second quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 48,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 3,089 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the second quarter worth about $242,000. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 43.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 186,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,619,000 after purchasing an additional 56,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2,380.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 5,736 shares in the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.