Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

by · The Cerbat Gem

Zacks Research lowered shares of Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR – Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Saratoga Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $21.50.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Saratoga Investment

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 4.0%

Saratoga Investment stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $18.15. The company had a trading volume of 305,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,602. Saratoga Investment has a 1-year low of $17.34 and a 1-year high of $25.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.60. The stock has a market cap of $296.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 0.54.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.07). Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The firm had revenue of ($12.15) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 million. As a group, analysts expect that Saratoga Investment will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 16.5%. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is 300.00%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter valued at $3,680,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2,243.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 23,959 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Saratoga Investment by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its position in Saratoga Investment by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 25,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 4,042 shares in the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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