Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

SAR has been the subject of several other reports. Compass Point cut their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SAR opened at $24.88 on Friday. Saratoga Investment has a 52-week low of $21.56 and a 52-week high of $26.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $357.06 million, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.57 and its 200-day moving average is $23.78.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 22.01%. Equities research analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were given a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 11.9%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2,268.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 112,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 107,499 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,450,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in Saratoga Investment by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 32,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Saratoga Investment by 8.4% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

Saratoga Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in leveraged and management buyouts, acquisition financings, growth financings, recapitalization, debt refinancing, and transitional financing transactions at the lower end of middle market companies. It structures its investments as debt and equity by investing through first and second lien loans, mezzanine debt, co-investments, select high yield bonds, senior secured bonds, unsecured bonds, and preferred and common equity.