Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

NYSE SAR opened at $19.10 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.92 and its 200 day moving average is $22.10. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $17.34 and a fifty-two week high of $25.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $311.54 million, a PE ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.55.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 $2.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 300.00%.

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.