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

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

Shares of SAR stock opened at $22.43 on Friday. Saratoga Investment has a twelve month low of $20.78 and a twelve month high of $25.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $364.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. The firm had revenue of $6.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.85 million. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 29.12%. On average, analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.76%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 2nd quarter worth $355,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Saratoga Investment by 24.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Saratoga Investment by 4.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 158,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,861,000 after purchasing an additional 7,006 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

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.