Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) Declares Monthly Dividend of $0.25

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, December 22nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 17.3%. 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 dividend 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 tumble. 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 0.6%

Saratoga Investment stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.35. 185,143 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 134,058. The company has a market cap of $278.99 million, a PE ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.30. Saratoga Investment has a one year low of $17.20 and a one year high of $25.15.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $30.78 million for 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, research analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SAR shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. 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 report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Saratoga Investment has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.50.

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.