Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Short Interest Update

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 132,200 shares, a decrease of 17.1% from the October 15th total of 159,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 64,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

SAR stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.26. The company had a trading volume of 75,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,543. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.40. The company has a market capitalization of $348.59 million, a P/E ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 1.31. Saratoga Investment has a 1 year low of $21.56 and a 1 year high of $27.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.39. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $43.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.84 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is 193.47%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAR. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $108,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Saratoga Investment by 8.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in Saratoga Investment by 12.2% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SAR shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective 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 upped their target price on Saratoga Investment from $24.75 to $26.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.42.

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.