Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

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

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 0.1 %

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

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAR. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,464,000 after buying an additional 6,632 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 2,268.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 112,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 107,499 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,450,000. Next Level Private LLC boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 39,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 32,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Saratoga Investment

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.