Oppenheimer Lowers Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) to Market Perform

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $23.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, down from their prior price target of $24.00. Oppenheimer's price target would suggest a potential upside of 0.57% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SAR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point downgraded Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $24.75 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.69.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

Saratoga Investment stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.87. 181,974 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,568. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.09. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $22.35 and a fifty-two week high of $28.87. The firm has a market cap of $312.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAR. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in Saratoga Investment by 6.9% during the third quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 11,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Saratoga Investment by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Saratoga Investment by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $626,000 after buying 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.