StockNews.com Lowers Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Monday, April 24th. They issued a buy rating and a $27.00 target price for the company.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 0.9 %

SAR opened at $26.92 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $24.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.15 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $20.16 and a fifty-two week high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.37.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 13th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 12th. This is a positive change from Saratoga Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is 132.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christian L. Oberbeck acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.81 per share, with a total value of $47,620.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 689,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,423,542.75. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 14.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 9.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 81,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,227,000 after purchasing an additional 7,043 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the first quarter worth approximately $239,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 11.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.45% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE: SAR) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that provides customized financing solutions for middle market companies located in the United States. Saratoga’s senior investment professionals have over 200 years of combined experience investing in more than $4 billion in middle market businesses.