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

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) declared a monthly dividend on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th.

Saratoga Investment has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year 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 decline. Equities research analysts expect Saratoga Investment to earn $2.12 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 141.5%.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE SAR opened at $22.31 on Friday. Saratoga Investment has a 52 week low of $20.78 and a 52 week high of $25.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $362.98 million, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.54.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 29.12%.The business had revenue of $6.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.85 million. Research analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

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.