Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on SAR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE SAR opened at $22.43 on Friday. Saratoga Investment has a 52 week low of $20.78 and a 52 week high of $25.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.74. 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 firm has a market cap of $364.89 million, a PE ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.54.

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

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 paid 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 13.4%. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is presently 128.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

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.