International Assets Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR)

International Assets Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 79,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,669 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Saratoga Investment were worth $1,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SAR. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $3,205,000 after buying an additional 17,379 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,417 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,450,000. Next Level Private LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SAR opened at $24.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.66. Saratoga Investment Corp. has a 1-year low of $21.56 and a 1-year high of $26.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 1.33.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 13.64%. Analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment Corp. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th were issued 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 is presently 193.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SAR. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $24.75 to $26.25 and gave the stock 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. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.42.

Saratoga Investment 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.