Saratoga Investment Corp (SAR) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 3rd

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd.

Saratoga Investment has raised its dividend by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years. Saratoga Investment has a payout ratio of 90.4% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities analysts expect Saratoga Investment to earn $2.00 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 150.0%.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 1.3%

SAR stock opened at $17.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.95 and its 200 day moving average is $21.22. The stock has a market cap of $275.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.54. Saratoga Investment has a 1-year low of $17.13 and a 1-year high of $25.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.07). Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 12.70%.The company had revenue of $30.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAR. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $3,680,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2,243.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 23,959 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Saratoga Investment by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 82,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after buying an additional 20,598 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 1st quarter worth about $389,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth about $431,000. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.