Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,900 shares, a drop of 21.7% from the November 30th total of 177,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 88,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 14.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 17,379 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Saratoga Investment by 2.7% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 129,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 3,417 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 107,499 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,450,000. Finally, Next Level Private LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Stock Up 0.1 %

Saratoga Investment stock opened at $23.77 on Friday. Saratoga Investment has a twelve month low of $21.56 and a twelve month high of $26.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.41 and a 200-day moving average of $23.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.05 million, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.33.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced 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 net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $43.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.84 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 11.9%. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is presently 193.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price 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. B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Compass Point lifted their target price on Saratoga Investment from $24.75 to $26.25 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.