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

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SAR shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 199,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,680,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 165,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,612,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 33.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 25,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 4,042 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

NYSE SAR opened at $17.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.96 million, a P/E ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $24.76.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.3%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 300.00%.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

Saratoga Investment Corporation (NYSE:SAR) is a business development company that provides financing and equity capital to lower-middle-market companies in the United States. The company primarily seeks to support established businesses that require capital for growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, ownership transitions and other strategic initiatives.

Its investment activities generally include senior secured loans, unitranche and mezzanine debt, subordinated debt, and minority or other equity investments.