Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on SAR. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of SAR traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.15. 305,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,602. Saratoga Investment has a 52 week low of $17.34 and a 52 week high of $25.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $296.03 million, a PE ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.60.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of ($12.15) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 million. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 8.76%. On average, analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.