Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.07), FiscalAI reports. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 29.12%.The company had revenue of ($12.15) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.38 million.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:SAR traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.98. 240,469 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 117,629. The stock has a market cap of $341.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.54. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $20.78 and a fifty-two week high of $25.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.3%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 197,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,826,000 after buying an additional 11,620 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 163,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,769,000 after buying an additional 5,073 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Saratoga Investment by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 113,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 4,998 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Saratoga Investment by 7.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 71,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 4.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

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.