Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.44 and traded as high as $25.33. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $25.30, with a volume of 81,461 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SAR. StockNews.com raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 26th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.44. The company has a market capitalization of $362.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.31.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 15.53%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment Corp. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Saratoga Investment’s previous monthly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.86%. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is 120.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,464,000 after buying an additional 6,632 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 128,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after acquiring an additional 7,556 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 109,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Saratoga Investment by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 94,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 23,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Saratoga Investment by 133.0% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 64,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 36,544 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

About Saratoga Investment

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.