Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.6250.

SAR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Saratoga Investment to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Friday, October 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 9,199 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 49,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after buying an additional 4,791 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 19,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Saratoga Investment by 163.3% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 13,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

Shares of SAR stock opened at $23.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Saratoga Investment has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $26.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.19 and a 200-day moving average of $23.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.56.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 30.61%.The firm had revenue of $23.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.35 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.8%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.95%.

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.