Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Downgraded to “Market Perform” at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer lowered shares of Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. Oppenheimer currently has $23.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $24.00.

SAR has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut Saratoga Investment from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday. Compass Point cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $24.75 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $25.69.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

Saratoga Investment stock opened at $22.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.18 and its 200 day moving average is $24.08. Saratoga Investment has a one year low of $22.35 and a one year high of $28.87. The firm has a market cap of $312.18 million, a P/E ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.07.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.77%. This is a positive change from Saratoga Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.52%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAR. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 11,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.