Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $23.74 and traded as high as $23.79. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $23.55, with a volume of 89,744 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Friday, October 10th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Saratoga Investment to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.63.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $381.04 million, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.74.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $31.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.35 million. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 30.61% and a return on equity of 9.19%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment Corp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.7%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2,380.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 5,736 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 24.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

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.