Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on SAR. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Compass Point lowered their price target 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 1.8 %

SAR opened at $24.88 on Friday. Saratoga Investment has a one year low of $21.56 and a one year high of $26.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.97 million, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 15.53%. Equities research analysts expect that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAR. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 107,499 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter valued at about $1,450,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 14.4% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 138,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after buying an additional 17,379 shares during the period. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. 19.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.