Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.07), FiscalAI reports. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 29.12% and a return on equity of 9.29%. The firm had revenue of ($12.15) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 million.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE:SAR traded down $0.43 on Tuesday, hitting $20.98. The stock had a trading volume of 244,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,024. Saratoga Investment has a 1 year low of $20.78 and a 1 year high of $25.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $341.43 million, a P/E ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.54.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued 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 14.3%. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is 128.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Saratoga Investment by 610.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,478 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.