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

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.6250.

SAR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Greenwood Gearhart LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 1st quarter valued at about $389,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 82,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 20,598 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 165,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 199,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

Shares of Saratoga Investment stock opened at $21.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $356.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.40 and its 200 day moving average is $22.79. Saratoga Investment has a 1 year low of $20.78 and a 1 year high of $25.64. 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 (NYSE:SAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. The company had revenue of $6.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.85 million. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 29.12% and a return on equity of 9.29%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.7%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.76%.

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.