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

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SAR. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of SAR stock opened at $18.96 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.25. Saratoga Investment has a twelve month low of $17.34 and a twelve month high of $25.64. The company has a market capitalization of $309.32 million, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 ($12.15) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 million. Equities analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 15.8%. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is presently 300.00%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAR. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,680,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 100.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Saratoga Investment by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 61,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 3.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. 19.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.