Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 177,600 shares, an increase of 28.0% from the May 31st total of 138,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 66,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAR. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Saratoga Investment by 2,604.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 86,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 82,860 shares in the last quarter. TMD Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,520,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,336,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 100,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,595,000 after buying an additional 44,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,023,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAR opened at $22.70 on Friday. Saratoga Investment has a twelve month low of $22.35 and a twelve month high of $27.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.43 and its 200 day moving average is $23.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $310.99 million, a PE ratio of 31.97 and a beta of 1.30.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.96 by ($0.02). Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 6.22%. The business had revenue of $37.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.59 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment will post 3.73 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. This is a positive change from Saratoga Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 416.91%.

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.